Upton Sinclair – Oil!

A colourful and unusual 1946 edition of this satirical novel about oil prospecting in southern California, written by the acclaimed US writer and political activist Upton Sinclair.

First published in 1926-7, the book tells the story of a father-and-son oil prospecting duo who try to persuade a local family to lease their land for drilling.

It was loosely used as inspiration by director Paul Thomas Anderson for the 2007 film There Will Be Blood, particularly the lead character in the movie, Daniel Clearview, played by Daniel Day Lewis.

Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) gained renown for his 1906 novel The Jungle, about the meatpacking industry. He won the Pullitzer Prize for Fiction in 1943 and published more than 100 books in his lifetime, including poetry and plays.

Hardback, published in 1946 by T. Werner Laurie in London. Original jacket, not price-clipped. Wear and some loss to extremities of jacket, particularly to spine. Toning to front and back endpapers. Otherwise pages clean and bright inside with no previous inscriptions or marking.