
Lycanthia Rare Books
weird & supernatural fiction
One of our favourite literary genres is ‘Weird & Supernatural’. From Algernon Blackwood to Prince Zaleski, we carry a large stock of bracingly bizarre and fiendlishly freakish first editions to cater for all types of ‘weird’.
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Lycanthia Rare Books
detective fiction
Another of our key specialisms, we run the gamut of rare and collectable detective and crime fiction, from early Victorian titles through to the Golden Age and later, often in superb dust-jackets, and at a range of prices to fit every budget.
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Lycanthia Rare Books
horror & gothic fiction
Horror & Gothic at Lycanthia Rare Books covers the classics of horror literature, including tales of vampires, ghosts, werewolves and ghouls. Authors such as Bram Stoker, M.R. James, Richard Marsh, Mary Shelley and Dennis Wheatley populate this part of the site.
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DETECTIVE & CRIME FICTION

horror & gothic fiction
we buy modern first editions
If you have modern first editions that you would like evaluated with a mind to sell, do please contact us! We are happy to advise on any 18th, 19th & 20th century books you own, especially but not exclusively those that fall within the genre fiction categories of Detective Fiction, Weird & Supernatural Fiction, Horror & Gothic Fiction and Science Fiction & Fantasy.
books to sell?
We are always looking to buy first or other significant editions of English & American Literature, particularly titles from the Weird & Supernatural, Horror & Gothic, Science Fiction & Fantasy and Detective Fiction genres.
New Arrivals
New to the shelves
We are constantly looking for, and acquiring, modern first editions from across our specialist genres of interest and beyond. Please contact us in regard to any first edition books you may be interested in selling.
Counter-Culture
University of Manchester Annual Rag Magazine Manchester, Rag Rag Board, The University Union, Manchester; C. Nicholls & Co. Ltd., Philips Park Press [&c.], 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932 & 1933.5 issues. Large 8vo. Original pictorial wrappers.An attractive group of these wonderful University of Manchester Annual "rag mags", issues 5, 7, 8, 9 & 10 respectively. Each features satirical and comedic elements, including humorous articles, advertisements and illustrations, with excellent cover artwork by illustrators including the well-known illustrator and painter, Karl Hagedorn (1889–1969). A fascinating insight into the Mancunian culture of the period, with articles on subjects as diverse as local public transport, the weather, the 'Indian Question', Chinese myths, detective fiction, the Nazis & Mussolini, and an Irish Free State.
Victorian Literature
London, , 1871-93.
A near complete run of the single All The Year Round Christmas issues plus 2 Easter issues. 8vo. Original wrappers, all complete with front & back wrappers present.
Charles Dickens' weekly periodical (1859-95) published serial fiction, journalism and the famous Christmas supplements. The near-complete run of Christmas & Easter numbers offered here includes works by Dickens, Wilkie Collins and others. Such runs are valued for their Victorian literary significance.
Detective Fiction
London, Skeffington, [1932].
First UK edition, early impression (stating '7th thousand' on title and jacket). 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, with price sticker '2/-' to spine.
The murder of "Handsome Harry" Borden, a lecherous and unethical stock promoter leads Detective Sergeant McMann to uncover the true identity of the killer.
Detective Fiction
London, Readers Library, n.d. [c.1933].
Small 8vo. Advertisements. Original gilt-stamped red cloth. Dust-jacket, stating Readers Library No.385.
Two homicide investigations and the detectives who solve them become entwined.
Modern Literature
Dell (Draycot M.) and Walter W. Ellis. A Little Bit of Fluff
...illustrated with scenes from the photo-play
London, Readers Library, n.d. [c.1928].
Small 8vo. Orginal gilt-stamped red cloth. Dust-jacket.
A novelisation of Draycot Dell and Walter W. Ellis's hit farce. Bashful clerk Bertram Tully tries to retrieve a compromising letter, triggering mistaken identities, jealous husbands and door‑slamming chases.
Non-Fiction
A shtudium fun dem ershaynen, leben und thetigkayt fun dem Musulmanishen gezets-geber un die rezultaten fun zayn religyon New York, M. Chinsky, 1898.First edition. Printed in Yiddish. 8vo. Contemporary green cloth.First edition of this Yiddish study of the Prophet Muhammad, written by the prolific journalist, novelist, and translator D. M. Hermalin (1865–1921). Beyond a biography of Muhammad and an outline of the Qur'an and Islam, the work includes chapters written from a distinctly Jewish perspective, such as on the Jewish communities of Mecca and Medina and on the Prophet's conflicts with them. Hermalin, who also produced popular accounts of Jesus of Nazareth and Sabbatai Zevi, was a central figure in the intellectual life of New York's Yiddish-speaking immigrant community, where he strove to place Jewish readers within a broader world culture. His choice of subject reflects both the fin-de-siècle vogue for comparative religious biography and Yiddish modernism's cosmopolitan ambitions, which sought to introduce global figures, from Mohammed to Goethe, to an audience often excluded from such literature by language barriers.
Modern Literature
and other poems
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1919.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Title printed in red & black. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 6/-.
The first published book by Oman, an author best remembered today for her retelling of the Robin Hood story and a biography of Nelson. The collection of poems draws upon her war work as a probationary VAD nurse in Oxford, Dorset, London and France in 1918–1919. Scarce in the jacket.
Detective Fiction
and other stories
London, Crimetec...by Polybooks, 1946.
First edition thus. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2s6d.
This 1946 collection gathers short mysteries and detective puzzles by the Coles, featuring both amateur and professional sleuths.
Detective Fiction
London, Vallancey Press, 1945.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2s6d.
1945 Cole mystery, set on holiday in a southern resort, where a murder exposes simmering resentments among British expatriates.
War, Invasion & Spy
The Saga of the Flying Men London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1936.First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 5/-.Aviation writer Harry Harper's 1936 volume combines biography and adventure, recounting exploits of pioneering aviators from the Wright brothers to inter-war record breakers.
London, Hurst & Blackett, [1924].
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
Romantic melodrama about two lovers separated by social barriers who endure hardship before finding happiness. A bestseller in its day, it is rarely seen now.
Modern Literature
London, Heinemann, 1955.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 13s6d.
Set in French-occupied Vietnam, this Greene novel centres on jaded British journalist Thomas Fowler and idealistic American aid worker Alden Pyle, who vie for the affections of Phuong.
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featured author
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie first editions make for an excellent area of rare book collecting. The Queen of Crime’s long career as an author of high quality crime fiction ensures there are various levels of value, which means collectors of her first editions can start with the later, generally more affordable first editions of her crime fiction titles, and build their way toward the more expensive first editions from the 1920s & 1930s.
Many of Dame Agatha’s first editions feature excellent dust-jacket artwork. The American first editions of Agatha Christie are often clad in truly lovely dust-jackets, very different in style to their UK counterparts, and can also provide a more affordable option for collectors than the UK first editions.
Some collectors like to focus on one of her famous serial characters, including Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot of course. Whatever your poison, you should be able to start building a collection relatively quickly.
Agatha Christie also wrote under a pseudonym, ‘Mary Westmacott’, and these titles are also not easy to find in first edition, especially in the dust-jackets
Agatha Christie @ Lycanthia Rare Books
Detective Fiction
and a Selection of Entrées
London, Collins Crime Club, 1960.
First edition. 8vo. Original red boards. Dust-jacket.
A decent first edition of this Hercule Poirot title, featuring five cases set in an English country house at Christmas time.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins Crime Club, 1953.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Library binding. Dust-jacket, priced 10s 6d.
A poisoned nursery rhyme leads detective Miss Marple to untangle a web of deceit and murder within a wealthy family, uncovering dark secrets along the way.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins, 1929.
First edition, early issue. 8vo. Original blue cloth.
A thrilling tale of deception and intrigue unfolds as a group of young adventurers stumble upon a deadly secret connected to the enigmatic Seven Dials Club.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins, 1930.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Later black cloth, lettered in red to spine.
A sharply rebound copy of this early collection of short stories by Agatha Christie.
Detective Fiction
A Detective Story New York, Grosset & Dunlap, [1940s].War-time US printing, 'Madison Square Books' issue. 8vo. Original burgundy cloth. Dust-jacket.A later US printing of Agatha Christie's debut novel, introducing the world to Hercule Poirot, her famously eccentric Belgian detective. War-time issue, so circa 1940s, similar to the majority of Madison Square Books reprints.
Detective Fiction
featuring Miss Marple
London, Collins Crime Club, 1964.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth-backed boards. Dust-jacket, priced 16s.
Miss Marple travels abroad, but inevitably trouble still finds her.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins Crime Club, 1962.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original red boards. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
An appealing first edition of this Miss Marple staple.
Detective Fiction
featuring Miss Marple
London, Collins Crime Club, 1965.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket, priced 16s.
An impressive hotel witnesses a violent chain of events when an eccentric hotel guest makes his way to the airport one day late...
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