London: Hamish Hamilton, 1964

Small 8vo, pp. 101. Original black boards, lettered in silver to spine. Photographically illustrated dust jacket. A near fine copy in a very good dust jacket, (white) rear panel a little darkened, small chip to top edge near spine, top edge and spine ends a little edgeworn.

First edition, INSCRIBED TO FRONT FREE ENDPAPER BY RATTIGAN TO TV AND FILM DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER MILES: 'To Christopher Miles from Terence Rattigan without any cracks, July 15 1964'. FURTHER INSCRIBED TO HALF-TITLE BY DAVID SUCHET TO MILES: 'To Christopher, "Take it off?!!" No!! You have just seen it and it's "ON!!" - March 8th 2005!! What a run!! David Suchet!'. Printed table seating plan for the celebratory dinner held at The Garrick on 8 March, 2005, laid in.

Man and Boy received its premiere at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, New York, in November 1963; the London production opened at the Queen's Theatre a month later. The play was poorly received on both sides of the Atlantic, but a London revival in 2005 starring David Suchet and directed by Maria Aitken restored its fortunes, and a New York production starring Frank Langella (again directed by Maria Aitken) followed in 2011.

This copy of the first edition of Man and Boy was inscribed by Rattigan to Christopher Miles in 1964. (At the time, Rattigan was fifty-two and Miles was twenty-five which, given the play's title, might explain Rattigan's 'without any cracks' comment in his inscription.) Miles went on to a have a successful career as a TV and film director (The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970); The Maids (1974); Priest of Love (1981)). But one of his projects which failed to get off the ground, however, was a 1987 production of Agatha Christie's Murder in Mesapotamia, starring Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot. David Suchet starred in a 2001 film of the book, made as part of his hugely successful Poirot series for ITV.

In March 2005, midway through the run of the London revival of the play, a celebratory dinner was held at Rattigan's old club, The Garrick, attended by Suchet (a life-long Rattigan worshipper and currently President of the Terence Rattigan Society, an organisation he helped found), and with Christopher Miles in attendance. Suchet added his excited inscription to this book on the evening of the dinner, an inscription which seems to hark back to the play's troubled beginnings and to rejoice in its present success. (Suchet is on record as describing the run of Man and Boy as one of his happiest professional experiences.)