Beamish (Noel de Vic, pseud. Annie O’Meara de Vic Beamish) The King’s Missal
£975
London, Herbert Jenkins, 1934.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A great example of this scarce title that blends murder-mystery with weird fiction, revolving around the supernatural influences of a book bound in human skin. The female author preferred male pen-names (in this case Noel, but having also penned the bizarre horror title The New Race of Devils, published in 1921, under the name ‘John Bernard’), which given her penchant for wearing men’s clothing would have come as little surprise to those who knew her – a group which included fellow Irish writer Samuel Beckett, who became friends with her during his time in Roussillon. Miss Beamish even served as inspiration for the character ‘old Mrs McGlome’ in his 1958 one-man play Krapp’s Last Tape.
In stock
Minor mottling to lower cover, but overall a fine copy; jacket in excellent condition, benefitting from some professional restoration to the lower panel.
Jacket artwork by Vernon Soper.
Related products
Detective Fiction
First edition.
London, Cassell, 1917.
A collection of eleven tales, one of which is a locked room mystery and two of which have definite weird content. Not mentioned by Bleiler.“The Mystery of Howard Romaine”
involves the disappearance of a coffin and a body from a locked room (Adey p.300)The Cuckoo Clock" is a tale of delirium involving the transmigration of a soul into a cuckoo clock. "The Fatal Fairy" is about a man who kidnaps a fairy at dawn, whereupon it turns into a monstrous baby vulture -- until he releases it a day later.Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager. This collection appeared in the year of his death.Very scarce in jacket.
Detective Fiction
First edition.
London, Collins, 1947.
Stephen Maddock was a pseudonym of JM Walsh and used for his more explicitly criminous titles.
Detective Fiction
London, Hamish Hamilton, 1953
First edition (preceding the first US edition by a few months). 8vo. Original burgundy boards. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 10s.6d.
Chandler's hard-boiled noir classic, defined by the author himself as "my best book". In 1955, the novel received the Edgar Award for Best Novel. It was later adapted as a 1973 film of the same name, updated to 1970s Los Angeles and starring Elliott Gould.
Detective Fiction
First edition.
London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1933.
When the dignified life of Steven Kester came to an undignified end there were several people with potential motives. Serial character Spike Tracy acts as detective and solves the mystery.Rare in d/w.
Detective Fiction
London, John Gifford Ltd, [1938].
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A distinctly hard-to-find title by the creator of The Black Pilgrim.