HILTON, James [Cecil B. DeMille.

The Story of Dr. Wassell.

First Edition of James Hilton's The Story of Dr. Wassell; inscribed by Dr. Corydon M. Wassell; signed by the cast of the 1944 film adaptation; Including Cecil B. DeMille, Gary Cooper and Laraine Day

Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1943.

$3,000.00

In Stock Item Number: RRB-148748

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First edition, early printing of this biographical narrative based on the real-life heroism of Dr. Corydon M. Wassell, basis for the classic film. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by Dr. Corydon M. Wassell at the top of the front free endpaper, "To Lorene Welton. Kind regards. Com dr. C. M. Wassell, (M.C.) U.S.N.R. Aug. 1943." Additionally signed on the front free endpaper and half-title page by his wife Madeline Wassell and the cast of the 1944 film adaptation including director Cecil B. DeMille, actors Gary Cooper, Laraine Day, Carol Thurston, Paul Kelly, Signe Hasso, Elliott Reid, Dennis O'Keefe, Barbara Britton, Renny McEvoy, Oliver Thorndike, and others. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by George F. Kelley. A unique example.

The Story of Dr. Wassell by James Hilton is a biographical narrative that recounts the remarkable wartime service of Dr. Corydon M. Wassell, a U.S. Navy physician who risked his life to save wounded American sailors during the Japanese invasion of Java in World War II. Hilton presents Wassell as a figure of moral courage and quiet heroism, whose actions—defying evacuation orders to ensure the safety of his patients—earned him the Navy Cross and widespread national recognition. The story’s compelling themes of sacrifice and duty were further popularized by Cecil B. DeMille’s 1944 film adaptation starring Gary Cooper, which brought Wassell’s exploits to an even broader audience and reinforced his legacy as a symbol of American wartime valor.