Edmonds (Harry) The Riddle of the Straits
£125
London, Ward Lock, 1931.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6.
An adventurous, speculative maritime novel (sometimes a “future-war” story) featuring ex‑Machine‑Gun Corps captain Bill Parslow who embarks on a canal journey that turns mysterious and perilous.
In stock
Cloth a little dulled, minor crease to spine; jacket with a couple of minor closed tears, vertical crease to lower panel, overall very good.
Related products
19th century literature
London, Ward & Lock, [?1860].
?First UK edition, possibly first book edition. 8vo. Contemporary half calf.
A hugely popular novel at the time of publication, originally serialised in The New York Ledger in 1859. The story centers on Capitola Black, a playful and audacious orphan girl who, after a series of circumstances, comes to live with her wealthy but unloving uncle in Virginia. Capitola is a tomboyish and adventurous heroine, often dressed in male attire, and she manages to survive numerous threats from a sinister villain named Black Donald who has connections to her mysterious past. Notable for its unusual treatment of gender and race issues for the time, presenting a strong, independent female character as its protagonist and incorporating discussion of the abolitionist movement. Southworth's portrayal of Capitola was significant during a time when the women's suffrage movement was gaining momentum in America.
We can trace no copies of this particular edition, at auction or in institutions - a reference to an edition published by Ward & Lock can be found in Bent's Monthly Literary Advertiser for September 1859. The Fleet Street imprint here suggests the edition was at least printed prior to 1878.
Detective Fiction
London, Ward Lock, 1937.
First edition. 8vo. Original beige cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
An attractive 'thirties title, involving cheque-book fraud.
Detective Fiction
London & Melbourne, Ward, Lock, 1939.
First edition. 8vo. 6pp. advertisements. Original yellow cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
Jonathan Mansel, one of Dornford Yates' most popular characters, heads a small private organisation dedicated to the detection of serious crime "by methods sadly unavailable to the regular police". Uncommon in the jacket.
Victorian Literature
Lindsay (Mayne, pseud. Rosina Margaret Hopkins) The Valley of Sapphires
London, Ward, Lock, 1899.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth.
Short stories set in India, inspired in part by the author's own experiences living there for three years. The author's first book.
Children's Books
London, Ward, Lock, 1940.
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 6/-.
One of the last books by a prolific author who had enjoyed literary success since 1900, as well as some controversy for her 1916 Sci-Fi book, The Last Weapon, A Vision, the anti-sentiment contained within resulting in the book being banned. Wilson was a founding member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.