Star Wars. From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker.

LUCAS, George - FOSTER, Alan Dean (ghostwriter).

Published by New York: Del Rey / Ballantine, [1977]

About this Item

First hardback edition, first printing, signed by the ghostwriter Alan Dean Foster on the title page, which solely credits George Lucas. This wildly popular novelization was originally published as a paperback five months prior to the film's release in May 1977 and was among the world's first encounters with a long-form story from the galaxy far, far away. This Book Club edition of July 1977, including colour photographs from the film, precedes the first trade hardback edition by four months. The front panel of the dust jacket is designed by John Berkey (1932-2008), the lead poster designer for the original trilogy. This copy has the printer's date code "S27" in the gutter of the final page, as required for the first printing. Before audiences had seen the special effects, heard the sound design, or absorbed John Williams's orchestral score, Lucas's story sold millions of copies. This book version is "perhaps most notable for allowing its readers to experience the interiority of characters from the film. Although the film establishes Leia's willingness to shoot the stormtroopers, the novelization allows its readers to imagine the consequences of her act more vividly by narrating the stormtrooper's thoughts and aspirations" (Webster, p. 51). The novelization includes several key details omitted from the finished 1977 film, but later retconned into the series, including Palpatine (p. 1), the Sith (p. 7), and, perhaps most infamously, a medal for Chewbacca (p. 183). By contrast, the most famous opening line in film is here given as "Another galaxy, another time". Jeremy W. Webster, "Leia Shot First: Transmedia Storytelling and the National Public Radio Dramatization of Star Wars", Star Wars and the History of Transmedia Storytelling, 2018. Octavo. With 16 pages of colour photographic illustrations after the film set, printed on black paper stock with accompanying text. Original grey boards, spine lettered in blue, fore edge untrimmed. With dust jacket by John Berkey. Light bumping and marking to boards, minor foxing to edges and contents; slight rubbing and creasing to unclipped jacket: a very good copy in like jacket.

Seller Inventory # 181984

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Star Wars. From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker.
• Publisher: New York: Del Rey / Ballantine, [1977]
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)