Marsh (Richard, pseud. Richard Bernard Heldmann) The Beetle,
£1,495
a mystery
London, Skeffington & Son, 1897.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth.
The first edition of Marsh’s horror novel in which a shape-shifting ancient Egyptian entity exerts a hypnotic influence over his victims, leading to a series of strange and terrifying events in 1890s London. The novel unfolds through four narrators, each recounting their harrowing encounter with “the Beetle.” The novel is often cited as a quintessential example of fin de siècle Gothic fiction, embodying the era’s anxieties and narrative innovations. Upon release, it was a sensation, and by 1913 it had gone through fifteen printings.
Out of stock
Minor toning to margins; some rubbing and bumping to edges, cloth slightly softened at head of spine.
Plates.
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