The Commitments. Dublin: King Farouk Publishing, 1987. First Edition. Pictorial stiff wrappers. Mild scuffing to top right corner and head of spine of upper cover, otherwise a nice bright copy of this fragile publication.

Published by King Farouk Publishing in Dublin, is the debut novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle. This first edition, issued in pictorial stiff wrappers, is a rare and fragile piece of literary history. Doyle initially self-published the book in a limited run of 3,000 copies, but only around 800 were sold at the time.

The novel, which follows the rise and fall of a working-class Dublin soul band, later gained widespread acclaim when it was republished by a mainstream press and adapted into a successful 1991 film by Alan Parker.

Today, the original King Farouk edition is a sought-after collector’s item, marking the humble beginnings of Doyle’s celebrated career and the birth of his iconic Barrytown Trilogy.