Book Description

Published by Hamish Hamilton, [1986]. 1st edition. Translated from the German by John E. Woods. Near fine hardback covers in a near fine pictorial dust jacket. Paper browned as usual.
Dealer Notes
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (German: Das Parfum: Die Geschichte eines Mörders [das paʁˈfœ̃ː diː ɡəˈʃɪçtə ˈʔaɪnəs ˈmœʁdɐs] ⓘ) is a 1985 literary historical fantasy novel by German writer Patrick Süskind. The novel explores the sense of smell and its relationship with the emotional meanings that scents may have.

The story follows Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an unloved orphan in 18th-century France who is born with an exceptional sense of smell, capable of distinguishing a vast range of scents in the world around him. Grenouille becomes a perfumer but later becomes involved in murder when he encounters a young girl with an unsurpassed wondrous scent.

With translations into 49 languages and more than 20 million copies sold worldwide to date, Perfume is one of the best-selling German novels of the 20th century. The title remained in bestseller lists for about nine years and received almost unanimously positive national and international critical acclaim. It was translated into English by John E. Woods and won both the World Fantasy Award and the PEN Translation Prize in 1987. Some editions of the novel, including the first, have as their cover image Antoine Watteau's painting, Jupiter and Antiope, which depicts a sleeping woman.
Author Suskind, Patrick
Date 1986
Binding Hardback
Publisher Hamish Hamilton
Illustrator N/A
Condition Near Fine
Pages 186

Friends of the PBFA

For £10 get free entry to our fairs, updates from the PBFA and more.

Join PBFA

Membership of the PBFA is open to anyone who has been trading in antiquarian and second-hand books for a minimum of two years subject to certain criteria.
Find Out More