Bram Stoker Birthday
London, Heinemann, 1908.
First edition, inscribed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original red cloth, stamped in black to upper cover and gilt to spine.
Inscribed on preliminary page to: 'Mrs George Burrell with Bram Stoker's (respectful) love 8/6/09'
Mrs. George Burrell is most likely the wife of the Glasgow shipping magnate, a tremendously important and influential figure in late 19th century shipping, who like many rich Victorians became something of a patron of the arts.
Children's Books
The original text of Peter & Wendy...newly illustrated by Edmund Blampied
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1939.
First Blampied edition. Small 4to. Illustrations and plates. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 10/6.
A wonderful illustrated edition of Barrie's classic for children.
London, Duckworth, 1937.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket.
Of some sci-fi & fantasy interest, featuring in Bleiler's Checklist of science-fiction and supernatural fiction and Reginald's Science fiction and fantasy literature.
Modern Literature
London, Macmillan, 1941.
First edition. 8vo. Original pink cloth. Dust-jacket.
The story of a young composer who, under the auspices of a mysterious millionaire, looks forward to a sumptuous production of his first symphony. Nice copy.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Grant & Murray, 1932.
First edition. 8vo. Original buff cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
One of the rarest books by Scottish journalist, poet and scholar of the occult Lewis Spence, who wrote many books on mythology, folklore and paranormal phenomena. He was also a prolific writer of fiction, especially in the genres of fantasy and horror.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Selwyn & Blount, [1928].
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/-.
A further anthology from the Not at Night series; uncommon in such condition, especially given the fragility of the jackets.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
A Tale of Two Spheres
London, Authors' Co-operative Publishing, 1892.
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth.
Classic Victorian sci-fi, the story of a young man transported to another planet, where he meets and fall in love with a beautiful woman only to have their relationship threatened by an evil sorcerer. The spheres, Earth is a world of war and poverty, while the other Aethasia is a world of peace and prosperity.
Detective Fiction
Syndey, Angus & Robertson, 1936.
True first edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 6/-.
The first in his "Bony" series. The novel tells the story of Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, a half Aboriginal detective from the Northern Territory of Australia, who is sent to investigate the murder of a pilot in the remote Diamantina River district.
Historical Fiction
London, Nash & Grayson, 1930.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A historical novel, set against the backdrop of the English Civil War, and it explores themes of love, loss, and redemption. Plus great dust-jacket.
Detective Fiction
London, Geoffrey Bles, 1934.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.
Classic crime story of murder, mystery and madness, set in a remote house on the coast of England. Scarce.
Detective Fiction
London, John Long, 1939.
First edition. 8vo. Original green boards. Dust-jacket, with publisher's price sticker 7/6.
Extremely uncommon Hubin-listed title, in excellent dust-jacket. Seemingly the only criminous novel by the author.
Modern Literature
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1934.
First edition. 8vo. Original pale blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A collection of nine short stories that explore various moral and ethical dilemmas faced by different characters in different settings and situations, from the author of The Four Feathers and Fire Over England.
Detective Fiction
Leonard (Charles L., pseud. Mary Violet Heberden) The 4th Funeral
London, Museum Press, 1951.
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth with silver lettering and red skull motif to spine. Dust-jacket, priced 9/6.
When a doctor's wife suspects that her husband's supposed suicide is actually murder, Paul Kilgerrin finds his plans for leaving Belem, Brazil, suddenly cancelled. He also believes that it is murder...
Detective Fiction
London, Hodder & Stoughton, [1922].
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A Craig Kennedy novel. The mysterious death of Stella Lamar, a famous movie star, who collapses on the set of her latest film, leads to Kennedy and Jameson being called in to investigate the case, immersing them in the world of cinema. Adapted into a movie in 1923.
War, Invasion & Spy
Leonard (Charles L., pseud. Mary Violet Heberden) Sinister Shelter
London, Museum Press, 1951.
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth with silver lettering and red skull motif to spine. Dust-jacket, priced 9/6.
Intrigue split across the US, Italy and Argentina in this rare spy thriller.
Detective Fiction
London, Hurst & Blackett, [1926].
First edition. Signed presentation copy from the author to a family friend. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A very good, inscribed first edition of this classic spy story; a mysterious man known as 'X' with a disfigured face who is blackmailing the British government to sabotage the British war effort.
Horror & Gothic
London, Robert Hale, 1963.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original green boards. Dust-jacket, priced 10/6.
First UK edition of this collection of thirteen macabre and often shocking tales, from the author of Psycho.
Detective Fiction
London, Hutchinson, [1936].
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 3/6.
Soutar's series character Phineas Spinnet ups the ante in this tale of murder and Egyptology. Jacket scarce in such fine condition.
Detective Fiction
London, Cassell, 1928.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original green cloth lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
The first UK edition of this particular compilation of short stories by Limehouse Nights author Thomas Burke. Set in the bustling streets and alleys of London's East End, the book offers a vivid and often dismal portrayal of life in one of the city's most diverse and vibrant neighbourhoods. Distinctly uncommon in the jacket.
Detective Fiction
Rohmer (Sax, pseud. Arthur Henry Ward) The Mystery of Dr Fu-Manchu
London, Methuen, 1913.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original red cloth stamped and lettered in gilt to upper board and spine.
The book that kickstarted the Fu-Manchu phenomenon, a keystone of the "Yellow Peril" trend in genre fiction in the late 19th/early 20th century: "the first sustained duel between detective Nayland Smith and that fiend and fanatic, that most malign and formidable personality, that adept in all the arts and sciences..." (see Queen's Quorum 64).
Horror & Gothic
London, Philip Allan, 1920.
First edition. 8vo. Modern blue cloth with red leather spine label tooled in gilt.
A handsome copy of this second collection of supernatural tales by Henrietta Dorothy Everett, presumed the first appearance in book form. Includes one of the author's most famous stories, 'The Crimson Blind'.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, John Hamilton, [1927].
First UK edition, a "Sundial Edition". Signed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original dark blue cloth lettered and with publisher's device in gilt. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A rare jacketed edition of this sci-fi classic, originally published in serial and book form in Melbourne, Australia. The tale recounts the discovery of the last-but-one revenant of a lost civilisation, discovered in Australia's outback by a homesteader; the 'wonder-woman' discovered preserved underground is from an ancient race with a vastly superior technology than our own, but also a rather unfortunate penchant for eugenics and racism, putting humanity itself in terrible peril. The author has signed & inscribed the front endpaper in 1934, thanking the reader to help "bring water to a thirsty land". There is a small clipped portrait of the author tipped-in next to the inscription.
Horror & Gothic
London, Methuen, 1897.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original red cloth blocked & lettered in gilt.
A very good first edition of this collection of short stories by Wells, comprising ghost stories, tales of horror and even a cautionary tale about an apple.
Horror & Gothic
London, André Deutsch, 1971.
First UK edition, first impression. 8vo. Original blue boards lettered in gilt to spine. Dust-jacket, priced £1.80.
The first UK edition of Stewart's second novel, a horror tale about a woman who believes her brother is possessed by the spirit of a serial killer. It was adapted into the 1972 feature film of the same title starring Shirley MacLaine and Perry King.
Detective Fiction
London, Michael Joseph, 1944.First edition. 8vo. Original dark grey cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 9/6.A posthumous biographical bequest proves problematic to the appointed biographer, who finds herself at loggerheads with the family of the deceased, leading to suspicions of murder... uncommon.
Detective Fiction
London, Sampson Low, [c.1931].
Early issue. Inscribed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, referencing this title and Knight's 'The Pawn' [1931] on lower panel, with official price-sticker '5/-' on spine and lower panel.
The author's first book, inscribed by the author to 'Miss Digger', thanking her for help and support. The adventures of Jerry Scant, a gipsy, who unwittingly becomes involved with an international gang of smugglers.
![Alternative view of [Croy (Homer)] West of the Water Tower](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/85136_2-300x400.jpg)
American Literature
London, John Long, 1923.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A rather stunning first UK of this famous account of Missouri life. Although Croy was primarily a humorist, this is a serious, realistic novel in the vein of Theodore Dreiser and Thomas Hardy.
Modern Literature
and other essays
London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1951.
First edition. 8vo. Original pale cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 12s6d.
A handsome first edition of this collection, in which Greene shares his love affair with reading in this collection of essays, memories, and critical considerations, both affectionate and tart.
Weird & Supernatural
London, T. Fisher Unwin, 1927.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth blocked in black. Dust-jacket.
A remarkably scarce and obscure weird-mystery thriller by Scottish-Canadian 'Bard of the Yukon'. Unfortunately the jacket would appear to have resided on a bookshelf in the House of Fear for a tad too long due to its traumatised condition, but rare nevertheless!
Modern Literature
London, Secker & Warburg, 1966.
First edition. 8vo. Original black boards. Dust-jacket, priced 21s.
Harrowing portrayal of a year in the life of a writer losing the motivation to continue after a recent miscarriage while her marriage comes apart. It examines the breakup of a marriage and the protagonist's subsequent struggle to rebuild her world. It was published about the time of the author's own divorce from George Figes. No copies currently for sale online.
Modern Literature
London, Ernest Benn, 1930.
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7s6d.
A favourite collection of short stories from the revered V.S. Pritchett.
Modern Literature
London, Piatkus, 1980.
First UK edition, first hardback edition. 8vo. Original burgundy boards. Dust-jacket, without price.
The first hardback printing of Virginia Andrews' darkly psychological, grimly compelling thriller, the first in a series which was eventually, upon the author's death, taken over by a ghost writer. The book was first published in the US in paperback. Copies often turn up without a price as in this case.
Modern Literature
London, Gollancz, 1932.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A weighty omnibus of literary delights, featuring works by Henry James, Sheridan Le Fanu, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rose Macauley and Jane Austen, to name but a few.
Modern Literature
London, Collins, 1936.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 8/-.
Considered the author's greatest novel, published posthumously. Centred around a County Council, the novel illustrates how public decisions can mold the individual, at the same time offering a panoramic and unforgettable view of Yorkshire life. Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
American Literature
A cycle of the Southern Hills
London, Methuen, 1930.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
The first UK edition of an important work on the Appalachians, a series of dialect sketches focusing on a single Southern community that was praised for its realism. The author, who co-created the 1920s little magazine The Modern Review, died in a car accident in 1931, after attending a 'bootlegger' near Cherokee. Scarce especially in a jacket.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, Grey Walls Press, 1943.
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7s6d.
An attractive first edition of this surreal semi-SciFi title by Scottish author Todd, renowned for his writings on the artist & poet William Blake. Published in England in 1943 by the Grey Walls Press in an edition of 1000 copies because of paper shortages, it received little circulation, although the few critics who saw copies praised it highly. The first edition has subsequently become a known rarity.
American Literature
London, Arthur Barker, 1935.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original decorative cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
The first UK edition of McCoy's disturbingly titled Great Depression era classic, adapted for film by Sydney Pollack in 1969.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Jonathan Cape, 1965.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original plain black boards. Dust-jacket, priced 18s.
A very decent first edition of the last full-length James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, in the plain second state boards. Under the heat of the Caribbean sun, Bond faces a seemingly impossible task: win a duel against Scaramanga, the Man with the Golden Gun, and regain M's trust.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, Greening, 1903.
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth.
A very good example of this uncommon sci-fi title, "which contains two Prehistoric SF novellas plus a similar short tale, each set in a different Asian civilization prior to the founding of China; these stories are made available to the modern world by use of a Time Viewer." (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction).
Detective Fiction
related by Christopher Jervis, M.D.
London, Chatto & Windus, 1916.
First edition, reissue with tipped-in title 1916. 8vo. Original first edition cloth.
A nice first edition of a Haycraft-Queen cornerstone, relating stories of medical detection. The book uses the first editions sheets and binding, but has an updated title-page.
Modern Literature
The Turning of the Screw; Covering End
London, Heinemann, 1898.
First edition. Title printed in red & black. 8vo. Original blue cloth, lettered in gilt with Beardsley-esque blind-stamped design to upper cover.
The first publication in book form of James's iconic ghost story 'The Turn of the Screw' as well as his 'Covering End'. 'The Turn of the Screw' was first published in Collier's Weekly and revised slightly for book publication, and 'Covering End' was first published in this edition.
Modern Literature
A Novel
London, Bentley, 1872.
First edition. 3 vols, 8vo. Original brown cloth ruled & lettered in black.
An uncommonly good first edition of this three-decker by the author of The Woman in White and The Moonstone. Classic Collins, "blind love", silver-compound poisoning and a woman in peril.