The Alchemist

San Francisco: Harper Collins, (1993). First edition, 1st printing. 8vo. 177 pp. Original quarter navy cloth over dark blue paper-covered boards, stamped in gold, in original unclipped ($16.00) dust-jacket. Some mild edge wear, wrinkling, handling and chips to ends and corners of jacket, trace soiling evidence. Book wears forward lean, shows light toning to page edges, spine ends curled and edges tips bumped. Signed by the author in black pen on the half-title page. Gift inscription to previous owner on dedication page.

Dust Jacket: Good

Hardcover: Very Good

“The Alchemist (Portuguese: O Alquimista) is a novel by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho which was first published in 1988. Originally written in Portuguese, it became a widely translated international bestseller. An allegorical novel, The Alchemist follows a young Andalusian shepherd in his journey to the pyramids of Egypt, after having a recurring dream of finding a treasure there. Coelho wrote The Alchemist in only two weeks in 1987. He explained that he was able to write at this pace because the story was "already written in [his] soul."