Graham Greene's proof copy of The Heart of the Matter to sell

Graham Greene's own proof copy of his bestselling novel The Heart of the Matter is offered at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury.

It's valued at £20,000-30,000 ($26,716-40,075) ahead of a September 29 sale.

The book displays fascinating alterations which indicate the way the text would change before publication.

Graham Greene Heart
The Heart of the Matter is one of Graham Greene's most successful novels

Greene was one of the most important British novelists of the 20th century and The Heart of the Matter was one of his most successful books.

It tells the story of Major Henry Scobie, a British intelligence officer in colonial west Africa during the second world war.

An inscription on the title page reads: "For Frere with gratitude and affection from Graham Greene, April 1948."

Alexander Frere (1892-1984) headed Greene's publisher Heinemann for a number of years. The two men became close friends and when Frere moved to rival publisher Bodley Head, Greene followed him.

A limited edition signed set of Rudyard Kipling's The Sussex Edition of the Complete Works in Prose and Verse (1937) is valued at £6,000-8,000 ($8,015-10,687).

It's one of 525 such editions signed by the author.

The set was issued in 35 volumes, of which 27 are featured in the sale - meaning eight are missing.

A complete set made £10,105 ($13,501) at Bonhams in 2003.

You can check out all our books and manuscripts for sale here.

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