Detective Fiction
London & Boston, John Lane; Roberts Bros,, 1895.
First edition. 8vo. Original purple decorative cloth.
One of the most well-known and collectable of Lane's important 'Keynotes' series, this being the seventh in the series, and the first of two appearances therein for the "King of Redonda" (the other being his influential work Shapes in the Fire, number XXIX). Aubrey Beardsley provided the title-page/cover designs and most if not all of the monogram key devices for the series up until vol.XXIII.
Prince Zaleski was Shiel's first published work, drawing inspiration in part from the detective tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and comprising three mysteries: "The Race of Orven", "The Stone of the Edmundsbury Monks", and "The S.S.", each to be solved by the eponymous Zaleski, an eccentric Russian nobleman living in exile in a derelict Welsh abbey.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Stanley Paul, 1909.
First edition. 8vo. Original (variant) blue cloth.
A key work in Hope Hodgson's canon, here in a seemingly unknown variant binding (the normal is red cloth, with green also being recorded). The tale recounts a ship crew's strange & terrifying experience as their reality comes into contact with an alternative, darker mirror world. Bleiler was a huge fan of Hope Hodgson, calling his novels "visionary accounts that have no real parallels in English literature". Of this particular title he noted:
"One of the great sea novels. highly original in detail and well done. Although it is overshadowed as visionary horror by the more spectacular The House on the Borderland and The Night Land, as a work of art, it is finer." (The Guide to Supernatural Fiction).
A revised version of the ending was anthologised, under the title "The Silent Ship".
Weird & Supernatural
London, Eveleigh Nash, 1916.
First edition. 8vo. Advertisements. Original cloth.
Two poems and eight short stories, mostly of darkly supernatural nautical themes inspired by the author's own time at sea. "Long neglected, unappreciated, one of most important formative influences in modern tale of supernatural horror." (Bleiler). Very rare.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Michael Joseph, 1945.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
A very good first UK edition of aviator Ernest Gann's exciting, realistic aeronautic adventure set in the far north of Canada.
Children's Books
The Story of a Boy...with an introduction by E.V. Lucas
London, Jonathan Cape, 1932.
First illustrated edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
Jefferies' famous "story of a boy", illustrated for the first time by Pooh illustrator E.H. Shepard; uncommon in the original dust-jacket. Accompanied by original printed prospectus.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Macdonald, 1947.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 8/6.
An intriguing tale by this author of crime fiction, the title taken from a line by Pope, "What beckoning ghost along the moonlight shade Invites my steps and points to yonder glade?".
Detective Fiction
London, Robert Hale, 1972.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket.
Travis McGee experiences the rough side of Southern hospitality...
Detective Fiction
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1957.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 12/6.
A very good first edition of this later and hard-to-find Freeman Wills Crofts title, featuring series character Chief Superintendent French, "the most human sleuth to be found in detective novels today" (Punch).
Weird & Supernatural
London, Eveleigh Nash & Grayson, 1923.
8vo. Original cloth.
A rare imprint of this classic collection of dark & gothic tales by a master of the genre, Sheridan Le Fanu.
War, Invasion & Spy
Translated from the German by Huntley Paterson.
London, Harrap, 1931.
First UK edition, second impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
A superb copy of this gripping first-hand account of the German Zeppelin raids on England during the Second World War.
Detective Fiction
London, W.H. Allen, 1983.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket.
We are kept off balance throughout this icy, understand thriller...brilliant (Newsweek review).
London, Gollancz, 1950.
First UK edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 16/-.
A scarce first Gollancz edition of this harrowing account from the perspective of one of the black men accused of raping two white prostitutes in Alabama in 1931, written with the aid of author & journalist Earl Conrad, who had met Patterson during his time as Harlem Bureau Chief for The Chicago Defender. The title was reprinted very quickly to meet demand, and as a result first impressions are relatively scarce.
![Alternative view of Foster (R[eginald]. Francis) Murder from Beyond](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/84139_2-300x400.jpg)
Weird & Supernatural
London, Eveleigh Nash & Grayson, 1930.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A scarce weird & supernatural 30s title, rare in the original dust-jacket, with its ominous play on "what the butler saw".
Weird & Supernatural
London, Longmans, 1960.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original orange boards. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 16/-.
One of only two novels written by this all-too-often over-looked American author, more prolific as an author of short stories. Crammed full of overwhelming religious themes and dark imagery, the work is one of the best examples of the "Southern Gothic" subgenre.