The Young Man from Lima

London: Jonathan Cape, 1968.

First Edition. Original orange hardback with the title lettered in silver on the spine. With the excellent and unclipped dust-jacket, one corner tip rubbed and some light rubbing to edges of the ends of backstrip, lower panel slightly foxed. Top edges of pages dyed blue. Without inscriptions etc. A fine copy. John Blackburn (1923-93) was the second son of a north country clergyman, though born in the Northamptonshire village of Corbridge. He was educated at Haileybury College And Durham University before serving as a merchant seaman during World War II. William Raven, the Secretary for External Affairs, is assassinated by a snowman. It is yet another in a series of assassinations of government officials throughout the world who happen to be tied to a mythical South American country called Nueva Leon.