Courtney (John, pseud. John Cournos) Grandmother Martin is Murdered

London, Skeffington, [1930].

First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.

Crime fiction by an intriguing author: born in Russia with Yiddish as his first language, Cournos moved to London in 1912 where he engaged in anti-communist activism, notably via his pamphlet London under the Bolsheviks: A Londoner’s Dream on Returning from Petrograd (1919); he also enjoyed some success as an Imagist poet, but garnered more renown for his novels and short stories under the Courtney pseudonym – today he is perhaps best known for his failed relationship with Dorothy L. Sayers, an unhappy experience recounted by both authors (Strong Poison by Sayers (1930) and The Devil Is an English Gentleman by Cournos himself in (1932)).