ELLIS, Bret Easton. American Psycho (Signed by the Author)

New York: Vintage Contemporaries (Penguin Random House), March 1991. Octavo. pp. [x], 399. Original publisher’s printed pictorial wrappers. A fine copy. Signed by the author on the title-page: “Bret Easton Ellis” in black ink.

A landmark work of late twentieth-century fiction, American Psycho—by Bret Easton Ellis—remains one of the most controversial and culturally defining novels of its era. First published in 1991, the book chronicles the life of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy New York investment banker whose outwardly perfect existence masks extreme moral and psychological disintegration. Its release generated significant media attention, censorship debates, and critical division, cementing its status as a modern classic of transgressive fiction.

This example is a Vintage Contemporaries original paperback issue (March 1991), issued simultaneously with, and shortly after, the first hardback edition. Signed copies of American Psycho are consistently sought after, particularly when signed directly to the title-page without inscription, as here.

The novel’s enduring influence—spanning literature, film, and popular culture—ensures continued demand, with signed early editions forming a key cornerstone for collectors of modern firsts and contemporary literary fiction.

[WR literature]