Miriam, Signed by Truman Capote
[Signed by Truman Capote] Capote, Truman. Miriam. First Edition Thus. 1982. Book is in very good condition—no dust jacket (as issued). Book is signed “Truman Capote” on the title page.
First published in the June 1945 Mademoiselle, this haunting short story launched Truman Capote’s career. It won the prestigious O. Henry Award for Best First-Published Short Story and inspired Random House’s Robert Linscott to sign him to a book deal. In the story, a widow living in two rooms in a Manhattan brownstone is befriended by Miriam, a little girl whom she is unable to shake, to the point of driving the widow to madness. A psychological thriller, it is unclear whether Miriam is real or a figment of the widow’s imagination. It was included in Capote’s 1949 short story collection, but this edition was its first as a stand-alone work. As this is his breakthrough short story, a signed copy by Capote is a great find. There don’t appear to any other such copies available.
“I live upstairs and there’s a little girl visiting me, and I suppose that I’m afraid of her. She won’t leave and I can’t make her and—and she’s going to do something terrible.”
--Truman Capote