The Alchemist : A Fable About Following Your Dream

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. Light edge wear, particular to spine crown and corners. Handling and shelf wear faint. Light spot of bleed to spine crown and transfer from hardcover, jacket. Protected in archival mylar. Book is tight, square and firm. Bottom rear corner touched. Light curling to spine ends with light bumps to panel edges. Neatly penned gift inscription to pre-title page.

Dust Jacket: Near Fine

Hardcover: Near Fine

“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."