Fifty years' experiences of a foreigner in the Chinese government service
London, Constable, 1931.
First edition. Inscribed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket with mounted colour illustration, priced 21/-.
Inscribed on the half-title with the authors compliments, with the dedicatee's name and official Peking stamps beneath.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, Constable, 1939.
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth lettered in gilt to spine. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
Hamilton's famous satirical novel that offers a critical view of contemporary British society through the lens of a fantastical and dystopian world. Hamilton, known for his plays and novels that often explored the darker aspects of urban life and the psyche, uses this work to skewer the class system, commercialism and the dehumanising aspects of industrialisation.
The novel's significance in 20th century literature lies in its blend of social critique and fantasy, a combination that was somewhat unconventional at the time. Hamilton's use of a parallel world to mirror and exaggerate the issues of his own society makes Impromptu in Moribundia a precursor to the later works of dystopian fiction that would become more prominent in British literature. It stands as a unique and imaginative critique of the socio-political climate of the era, reflecting the anxieties and criticisms of the interwar period.
Modern Literature
London, Constable, 1953.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 12s6d.
The scarce third title in Hamilton's 'Gorse' trilogy.
Weird & Supernatural
Twelve Stories of the Supernatural
London, Constable, 1948.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 8/6.
Known for his books on railways and inland waterways, this collection of supernatural stories by Rolt follows strongly in the tradition of M.R. James; "An exceptionally original collection of ghost stories... Rolt had the special talent of combining folkloric spontaneity with artful sophistication" (The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural).
Detective Fiction
London, Constable, 1931.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
Tales of Chinatown and Limehouse: "horrible, ironical, whimsically aloof"
Detective Fiction
London, Constable, 1935.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
Suitably ominous jacket artwork on this uncommon first edition; one of at least three works by Scottish author Curle, better known today for his friendship with and works about Joseph Conrad.
American Literature
London, Constable, 1932.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth stamped in yellow. Dust-jacket, priced 7s6d.
The first UK edition of the second in Dos Passos's 'USA Trilogy', in which he evaluates the damage done by World War I. Nineteen Nineteen focuses on the fear and social unrest on the home front.
London, Constable, 1931.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth lettered in white. Dust-jacket, priced 2s.6d.
A first-class mystery... a story of dark doings, with a pleasant background of East coast life... (Daily Telegraph). Attractive jacket artwork, and a scarce first edition, here in a slightly later issue jacket.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Constable, 1936.
First edition, first printing. 8vo. Original green boards. Second printing dust-jacket, price-clipped but with 3/6 price on spine.
One of the finest works by an author known for his ability to "build up a unique sense of unease" (Brian Stableford, St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers, 1998).
Weird & Supernatural
London, Constable, 1927.
First edition. 8vo. Original brown cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
Uncommon first edition, with witchcraft in large part serving as a metaphor for womanhood; the main character is not magical, but has been stigmatised and shunned by her community for her illegitimate children and for practising abortion.
Detective Fiction
London, Constable, 1924.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6, with publisher's 'file' sticker to spine. Publisher's promotional card loosely inserted.
A tale of mild villainy and opportunism featuring a parasitical couple on the fringes of cosmopolitan society. Attractive jacket artwork by A. Mary Ryland.
Bram Stoker Birthday
London, Constable, 1901.
First abridged edition, printed in double column; bound with Doyle (Arthur Conan) The Sign of Four, 1899; Maclaren (Ian) The Days of Auld Lang Syne, 1901; [Russell (William Clark, pseud. John Watson) A Strange Voyage], [c.1900]. 8vo. Together in contemporary dark cloth.
A decent sammelband of Victorian literature including the scarce abridged edition of Dracula, originally published in paperback. Stoker oversaw the abridgement himself, cutting around 15% from the original text.
Detective Fiction
London, Constable, 1955.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 10s6.
Equestrian murder mystery.