KESSEL (Joseph). Fortune Carrée. Paris: Les Éditions de France, 1932. — In-8, 220 x 133: (4 blank leaves at the beginning), 435 pp., (2 blank leaves at the end), printed cover. Paperback. First edition of this adventure novel. “In 1931, Kessel began writing what would become one of his finest novels. The idea for *Fortune carrée* came to him on the volcanic plateau of Sanaa when he saw ‘the Muscovite’ prancing on the Yemeni imam’s stallion. This rugged tale features two violent, rootless men—Hakimoff and Henri de Monfreid—set against a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop: Yemen, the Red Sea, and Ethiopia-Somalia. A dazzling tale inspired by the life of the great traveler Kessel and his encounters with fabulous characters: Monfreid, but also Sergeant Hussein and Gouri, the killer with bracelets made of human skin. “An epic and true adventure novel” (back cover of the edition published by Yves Courrière in the “Presse Pocket” collection in 1996). One of 78 copies printed on Holland paper; this one is unnumbered and was the second print run following 10 copies printed on Imperial Japan paper. This copy has wide margins; the endpapers are mostly dusty.