8vo. Original two-toned cloth; dust jacket.

FIRST EDITION. SIGNED BY ATWOOD ON TITLE PAGE. A classic of dystopian fiction, The Handmaid's Tale was written, according to Atwood, as a response to western commentators who looked at oppressive tactics against women in other countries who claimed that such things "can't happen here." She noted in a later interview, "I didn't put in anything that we haven't already done, we're not already doing, we're seriously trying to do, coupled with trends that are already in progress..."; during promotion for the book Atwood was noted for carrying newspaper clippings and excerpts from history books detailing many of the same practices found in her work. In the years since its initial publication The Handmaid's Tale has become one of the most challenged and banned books in North America. It was later adapted into an award-winning television series starring Elisabeth Moss as Offred.

[With:] A used ticket for an “In Conversation with Margaret Atwood” event at the Avon Theatre, Stratford Festival, 8 September 2018—very likely the occasion at which the present work was signed.