African literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1946.
First edition, second impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
"...the story of a brilliant West African boy and his search for what he conceived to be success by Western standards. We watch with delight young Folu's progress through the mission school, where by his shrewdness and wit he quickly makes his mark." (jacket blurb)
Detective Fiction
London, Faber & Faber, 1971.
First edition, first impression. Signed by the author on the title-page and again on promotional bookplate. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
The fourth novel in P.D. James's Adam Dalgliesh series, in which Chief Superintendent Dalgliesh is called in to investigate the deaths of two student nurses at the hospital nursing school of Nightingale House. The novel earned an Edgar Award and a Silver Dagger, and is widely regarded as James's breakthrough into the international market.
London, Faber & Faber, 1969.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 15s.
Heaney's second collection of poetry, preceded by his widely acclaimed Death of a Naturalist (1966). The poems graphically depict the author's rural upbringing, from the local forge to the banks of Lough Neagh, concluding with his iconic poem 'Bogland'.
A Survey of Evidence
London, Faber & Faber, 1939.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
Sir Ernest Bennett (1868–1947) was a British Liberal MP and psychical researcher who compiled this survey of reported apparitions and hauntings as an evidential study.
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1989.
First edition, first impression. Signed by the author on title-page. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket.
The story of an English butler who reflects on his years of service and a past relationship with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton. The novel was awarded the Booker Prize in 1989 and was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1993, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1959.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket.
An uncommon first edition, notably striking for its Ardizzone jacket.
London, Faber & Faber, 1940.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7s6d.
Being a compilation of his allocutions, messages, broadcasts, addresses, and encyclicals since his accession to the Holy See, together with a biography and current precis by Charles Rankin of all his efforts for peace since 1917 when he handed to the Kaiser the peace plan of Pope Benedict XV.
Detective Fiction
London, Faber & Faber, 1949.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 9s6d.
Roy Vickers (1887-1965) was popular in Britain for mystery short-stories/novels.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, Faber & Faber, 1971.
First UK edition, first impression. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket, priced £1.75.
A very good first UK edition of this classic sci-fi title, first published in Galaxy Magazine, October 1967.
and other poems London, Faber & Faber, 1941.First Faber edition, first impression. 8vo. Original red boards. Blue dust-jacket, priced 2/6.This Faber & Faber anthology collects twenty-eight poems from the last years of Lawrence's life, reflecting the author's preoccupation with mortality: written when he was dying of tuberculosis, it urges readers to prepare a symbolic ship to carry their souls and portrays death as an unexpected voyage.
Non-Fiction
London, Faber & Faber, 1941.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 8s.6d.
A thoughtful scholarly study tracing magic, astrology and the occult through history, blending translations (including from the Westcar Papyrus) with Gleadow's own interpretations.
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1939.First trade edition, first impression. Royal 8vo. Original red cloth ruled and lettered in silver to spine. Dust-jacket, priced 25s.A near fine first edition of Joyce's key work of literary modernism, a hallucinatory, dream-like narrative centred on the Earwicker family that weaves myth, history and language into a cyclical structure.
African literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1958.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 18s.
The story follows Adebisi, an 18-year-old huntress who embarks on a quest to find her four brothers lost in the Jungle of the Pygmies, facing various supernatural challenges. Amos Tutuola (1920–1997) was a Nigerian writer known for incorporating Yoruba folklore into his works. His debut novel, The Palm-Wine Drinkard, gained international acclaim.
African literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1958.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 18s.
The story follows Adebisi, an 18-year-old huntress who embarks on a quest to find her four brothers lost in the Jungle of the Pygmies, facing various supernatural challenges. Amos Tutuola (1920–1997) was a Nigerian writer known for incorporating Yoruba folklore into his works. His debut novel, The Palm-Wine Drinkard, gained international acclaim.
Detective Fiction
London, Faber & Faber, 1994.
First edition. Signed presentation inscription from the author pasted to front pastedown. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket.
James has inscribed another example of the jacket, which the dedicatee has cut-down and pasted onto the front pastedown; the previous owner has also written a note explaining the process and pasted in a small description of the crime writing course she attended, where she obtained the author's inscription.
A murder mystery set in a London publishing house, investigated by Commander Adam Dalgliesh. The novel explores themes of betrayal, legacy, and moral ambiguity, with James's hallmark psychological depth.
Weird & Supernatural
or They Walk Again. A Collection of the Best Ghost Stories
London, Faber & Faber, 1934.
First cheap edition, second impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
Introduction by Walter De La Mare.
London, Faber & Faber, 1972.
First edition, first impression. Signed presentation copy from the author, with author's autograph additions in the text. 8vo. Original wrappers.
Inscribed on the half-title, 'To Rosemary from Ted'. Presumably Rosemary Goad, the first woman to become a director of Faber & Faber, who worked closely with Hughes.
American Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1936.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
The first UK edition of US author Saroyan's second book, a short story collection. In excellent Barnett Freedman illustrated dust-jacket.
Detective Fiction
London, Faber & Faber, 1956.
First edition. 8vo. Original red boards lettered in yellow. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
A Professor Daly title by prolific Irish author Eilís Dillon.
Food & Drink
London, Faber & Faber, 1935.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original pictorial boards. Dust-jacket, priced 2s6d.
Heath was cookery correspondent of The Queen from 1938-64 and wrote over seventy books between 1932 and 1968. His first book was Good Food (1932).
Detective Fiction
London, Faber & Faber, 1935.
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
22 murder stories that only appeared in periodical form before.
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1937.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, silver, priced 7/6.
Set in India and Burma on the eve of WWII, this novel is less an adventure story and more a character-focused study echoing Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It tackles themes of mortality, cultural clash, and supernatural elements. While featuring moments of action, its real strength lies in its emotional and thematic depth, earning it a place alongside works by Kipling, E.M. Forster and Paul Scott.
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1932.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth lettered in gilt to spine. Second issue dust-jacket.
An unusually good example of the second issue jacket on this collection of essays by Wodehouse, a variant typographic version distinct from the Rex Whistler first issue.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, Faber & Faber, 1959.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue boards. Dust-jacket, priced 15s.
The first UK edition of US author Blish's Hugo Prize winning Sci-Fi classic, notable for being one of the first in this genre to try and involve religious theory.
Detective Fiction
London, Faber & Faber, 1962.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 18s.
A great first edition of James's debut novel, an ingeniously plotted mystery that introduced readers to Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard, immediately ranked the author amongst the best crime writers.
![Alternative view of [various]. My Naughtiest Story.](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/84959_2-300x400.jpg)
Modern Literature
An anthology of stories chosen by their own authors
London, Faber & Faber, 1934.
First edition. 8vo. Original purple cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6.
Contributors include Martin Armstrong, A.E. Coppard, Louis Golding, James Laver, H. de V. Stacpoole and Alec Waugh.
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1938.
First edition. 8vo. Original brown cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 25s.
The second collection of poetry by Irish poet MacNeice, with the correct blurb to the jacket's front inside panel: 'Mr. MacNeice's position as a poet was incontestably established in 1935 by his first volume of Poems. He is one of the few poets to-day none of whose poems could have been written by anyone else. His second volume has been awaited for some time: now that it has arrived, it needs no advertisement.'
Modern Literature
and his dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Deads' Town
London, Faber & Faber, 1952.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 10s6d.
"This astonishing story…was written in English by a West African, and is in part the product of African folk-lore, stimulated by European inventions." (jacket).
A very good copy of this debut novel by Nigerian author Amos Tutuola, the first African novel published in English outside of Africa, praised by Dylan Thomas as "brief, thronged, grisly and bewitching". Tutuola's works, often drawing upon Yoruba traditions & folklore, were well received in the UK & US (far more than they were originally in his home country), drawing international acclaim and helping open up African writing to a wider audience.
Given the recent prices achieved by this and other similar works by African authors at auction it seems probable that we are experiencing something of a, possibly overdue, reappraisal & resurgence of interest in these writers.
The jacket is designed by the well-known artist & illustrator Barnett Freedman.
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1954.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 12s.6d
The tale of a small boy who wanders into the heart of a fantastical African forest, the dwelling place of innumerable wild, grotesque and terrifying beings. A key work of modern African literature, a companion-piece to Tutuola's first book The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952).
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1959.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in white to spine. Dust-jacket.
An autobiographical recounting of the author's first-hand experiences of apartheid in South Africa.