{"product_id":"the-short-reign-of-pippin-iv","title":"The Short Reign of Pippin IV","description":"\u003cp\u003e6W John Steinbeck. \u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLondon: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Yjhzub\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eWilliam Heinemann Ltd\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e; Kingswood, Surrey: \u003cspan class=\"Yjhzub\"\u003eThe Windmill Press\u003c\/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"Yjhzub\"\u003e1957\u003c\/span\u003e. First UK Edition, First Printing\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNotes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIERAA\" data-processed=\"true\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eSubtitled \"\u003cem class=\"eujQNb\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eA Fabrication\u003c\/em\u003e,\" \u003cem class=\"eujQNb\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-processed=\"true\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan class=\"wfWfIf fxyaSe\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"jAOkJc\" role=\"button\" id=\"\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-ved=\"2ahUKEwjHoYju6sOUAxVgLUQIHVcBHQUQ3egRegYIAAgREAE\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eThe Short Reign of Pippin IV\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e represents a sharp, lighthearted departure from \u003cspan class=\"wfWfIf fxyaSe\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"jAOkJc\" role=\"button\" id=\"\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-ved=\"2ahUKEwjHoYju6sOUAxVgLUQIHVcBHQUQ3egRegYIAAgREAI\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eJohn Steinbeck\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e's gritty, hyper-realistic dust-bowl epics. Set in mid-1950s France during a period of agonizing, deadlocked political chaos, the narrative follows Pippin Héristal, a modest, middle-aged amateur astronomer living a quiet bourgeois life in Paris. In an absurd bid to restore national stability, a fractured coalition of French political parties decides to resurrect the ancient monarchy. Because of his distant lineage to Charlemagne, the unsuspecting Pippin is suddenly drafted and crowned King of France. Pippin attempts to rule with genuine integrity and progressive, common-sense reform, but his earnestness instantly clashes with the self-serving motives of his ministers, the bizarre expectations of his newfound royal court, and his family’s domestic eccentricities. Ultimately, the novel serves as an entertaining yet biting political satire that exposes the universal hypocrisies, trivialities, and inherent absurdities of partisan governments and modern public life.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIERAA\" data-processed=\"true\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIERAA\" data-processed=\"true\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eWritten during a prolonged stay in Paris in 1954 and 1956—where \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"wfWfIf fxyaSe\" style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"jAOkJc\" role=\"button\" id=\"\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-ved=\"2ahUKEwjHoYju6sOUAxVgLUQIHVcBHQUQ3egRegYIAAgVEAE\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eJohn Steinbeck\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e wrote columns for \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem class=\"eujQNb\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eLe Figaro\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e—this novella holds a distinct position as the author's only formal work of political satire. First published in the United States by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eThe Viking Press\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e in April 1957, the book was quickly issued for the British market later that same year by his long-term UK publisher, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eWilliam Heinemann\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e. By printing the text at \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Yjhzub\" style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eThe Windmill Press\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e (Heinemann's renowned, country-side printing facility in Surrey), the publisher maintained their exceptional mid-century production standards. The text highlights Steinbeck’s versatility, moving away from the heavy social consciousness of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem class=\"eujQNb\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eThe Grapes of Wrath\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e toward an playful, intellectual irony influenced by French satire like Voltaire's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem class=\"eujQNb\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eCandide\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIFRAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIFRAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eThe 1957 release of this book captured a highly specific cultural moment, hitting shelves just as France's unstable Fourth Republic was teetering on collapse, a historical crisis that culminated a year later with Charles de Gaulle's rise to power. Mid-century critics were initially polarized by the work, as many struggled to reconcile the tragic, Nobel Prize-winning realist with a writer of whimsical political farce. However, the first UK edition remains highly prized by collectors of modern literature, particularly when found with its original pictorial dust jacket illustrated by the iconic British cartoonist and architectural artist, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Yjhzub\" style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eOsbert Lancaster\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e. Today, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem class=\"eujQNb\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"wfWfIf fxyaSe\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"jAOkJc\" role=\"button\" id=\"\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-ved=\"2ahUKEwjHoYju6sOUAxVgLUQIHVcBHQUQ3egRegYIAAgZEAE\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);' tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eThe Short Reign of Pippin IV\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e is increasingly appreciated by literary scholars as a remarkably prophetic meta-critique on how celebrity, commercialism, and media spectacles distort the serious nature of democratic politics.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIFRAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIFRAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eDescription\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIFRAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAAIFRAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eBlue cloth binding with gilt lettering to spine. Iconic original dustwrapper intact. Some soiling to dust wrapper and discoloration on the spine and back. Tears to the points and rubbing to extremities. Very good condition overall.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Moons Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56480535019686,"sku":null,"price":195.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0173\/6563\/1040\/files\/EE9277CC-BC6C-4455-9C6A-F4EAEC5BFE32.jpg?v=1779237537","url":"https:\/\/moons-rare-books.myshopify.com\/products\/the-short-reign-of-pippin-iv","provider":"Moons Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}