Terry Southern's manuscript of The Magic Christian
The Magic Christian. Author’s Working Manuscript and Revised Typescript.
[N.p: n.d., 1959-60].
Price: $40,000.00
About the item
Approx. 250 pages in total, the autograph draft heavily revised and corrected throughout, the typescript setting copy with revisions and editorial markings. 2 vols. 4to. Terry Southern's manuscript of The Magic Christian. Two red half morocco slipcases with gilt titles on spine; 250 pages total. (1) the original working draft, approx. 150 single-sided pages plus typescript title-page, including both autograph and typed sections, heavily revised in blue and black ink, with possibly a few pages of the printed text not represented. In the second case, (2) the setting copy, approximately 85 pages, double-spaced, paginated 11-95 (complete), with some light autograph authorial revisions and extensive editorial corrections and directions to the printer in blue pencil; and (3) a group of 21 pages containing text not used in the book, approx. 20 autograph and typed pages with heavy autograph revisions.
Item #338752
Terry Southern (1924-1995) found moderate success with his third novel, The Magic Christian, a story about an oddball billionaire named Guy Grand, who spends his time playing elaborate practical jokes on people. It's the book that brought Southern to the attention of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, who received a copy as a gift from Peter Sellers, and subsequently hired him as co-writer on Dr. Strangelove (1964), an experience that profoundly changed Southern's life. In 1969, The Magic Christian was also made into a film starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, though the story was altered and relocated from New York City to London.
