New York: The Viking Press, 1942. First edition. Publisher's advance copy in wraps, Very Good + on account of some bumping to the upper front corner and some light creasing to the spine. With the first issue point of a large period between "talk" and "this" on page 112. Surprisingly scarce in anything approaching this condition. Housed in a custom cloth slipcase with chemise.

An immensely popular war-time novel, thinly disguised to garner hope and bolster resistance against the Nazis. "When The Moon is Down appeared in 1942, it ignited some of the most incendiary discourse among prominent literary critics that year" because of its anti-Reich stance and its thinly veiled criticism of American isolationism. (SITS). A great debate centered on Steinbeck's depiction of Nazis, which some found too humanizing and others saw as overly one-dimensional. "It was not until after the war that it became clear how realistic Steinbeck's portrayal of the occuppied town and its invaders had been" and in 1943 the Chicago Tribune announced that the book had been voted as the year's best fiction. Very Good + (Item #4096)