London, Bles, 1937.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original red cloth, dust-jacket, priced 8s6d.
Attractive first UK edition of this important work by the author of The Grand Hotel, set during the 1906 Dutch intervention in Bali.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Translated by Lawrence Hyde.
London, Bles, 1925.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth lettered in red. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A great first edition in English of Čapek's novel about a secret explosive formulation and the trouble it causes, not least for its inventor, the chemist Prokop: "a rich and wildly imagined work, unusual in its almost orgiastic baroque exploration of power, sexuality, and guilt." (Bleiler). The wonderful art deco jacket artwork sets the mood perfectly! The original Czech edition was published the previous year.
Detective Fiction
London, Bles, 1935.
'Popular Edition', second printing. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 2/6.
Originally published in 1926, this attractive early edition in the Abbey jacket is a hard find; Dilnot was a journalist associated with true crime stories, in particular through his editorship of the Famous Trials series also published by Geoffrey Bles.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Bles, 1924.
First edition. 8vo. Original burgundy cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.
Scarce first edition of this weird & supernatural novel by Sullivan, centred on a jade god made by one Lung Sen which exerts a powerful influence over events, both strange and mysterious. The author incorporates telepathy and the atmosphere of the Far East.