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.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1935.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 7/6.
The last espionage novel by this prolific author who famously enjoyed the high-life. A rousing tale of the quest for world peace via the machinations of Italian Fascism.
Children's Books
London, Juvenile Productions, [1937].
Merlin Series' edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
Lewis Carroll's classic for children, here illustrated by D.R. Sexton and issued for the Merlin Series.
Weird & Supernatural
and other sketches and vignettes
London etc., Humphrey Milford, 1921.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Printed dust-jacket.
A collection of short stories, many of a supernatural nature. De Montmorency's background was in law, but he was a prolific writer, "much of his published work is of a somewhat miscellaneous and transient character. He was one of the principal contributors to the series of monographs published by the Society of Comparative Legislation under the title of Great Jurists of the World, and he wrote the section 'Sea-policy and the Alabama claims' in the Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy, volume 3 (1923). Selections of the articles which he contributed to The Times and the Contemporary Review were published under the titles of The Never-Ending Road (1916), The White Riders (1918), and The Admiral's Chair (1921)." (ODNB)
Weird & Supernatural
and other sketches in war-time
London etc., Humphrey Milford, 1918.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Printed dust-jacket.
A collection of short stories, many of a supernatural nature. De Montmorency's background was in law, but he was a prolific writer, "much of his published work is of a somewhat miscellaneous and transient character. He was one of the principal contributors to the series of monographs published by the Society of Comparative Legislation under the title of Great Jurists of the World, and he wrote the section 'Sea-policy and the Alabama claims' in the Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy, volume 3 (1923). Selections of the articles which he contributed to The Times and the Contemporary Review were published under the titles of The Never-Ending Road (1916), The White Riders (1918), and The Admiral's Chair (1921)." (ODNB)
Detective Fiction
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1936.
First Omnibus edition. 8vo. Original oatmeal cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
An attractive edition comprising four stories, 'The Man with the Clubfoot', 'The Return of Club Foot', 'The Crouching Beast' and 'The Gold Comfit Box'.
London, C.Arthur Pearson, 1916.
First abridged edition. Small 8vo. Original dark grey cloth blocked in black.
An attractive abridgment of the weird & supernatural tales of psychic detective Flaxman Low, written by mother & son team 'E. & H. Heron'. The stories first appeared in Pearson's Magazine (1899). Hesketh was a prolific turn-of-the-century author, creator of then then very popular sadistic bandit character Don Q., as noted by Bleiler now "deservedly forgotten".
![Alternative view of Atkins (A.H[arold].) Sinister Smith](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/84251_2-300x400.jpg)
Modern Literature
London, Duckworth, 1938.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
...a critical and sympathetic picture of modern life and its social problems...is it better to escape, or to play one's part? (jacket)
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Chapman & Hall, 1955.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 12s.6.
A very good first edition of the second book in Waughs' Sword of Honour trilogy, loosed derived from the author's own wartime experiences.
London, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1956.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 12s6d.
An intriguing combination of authors: "Each of the three 'tales of imagination' in this book is by a master of the art, and there is enough incident and invention in each of them to surpass most full-length novels." (jacket blurb). The Peake tale Boy in Darkness features Titus, from the Gormenghast books.
Weird & Supernatural
London, William Rider, 1922.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth-backed boards. Printed dust-jacket.
A pleasingly good, jacketed example of this work on handwriting and what it can tell us about someone's character.
Modern Literature
London, John Lane The Bodley Head, 1916.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket.
A remarkable survivor, the rare jacket protecting the book below admirably.
"What 'Moby Lane' really has to offer you are stories and sketches of the everyday life of ordinary people — that is, of people who seem ordinary until Mr. Lyons picks them up and casually shows you how extraordinary they are." (The Bookman, 1915).
![Alternative view of Thomas (J[oyce]. Bissell) Dragon Island](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/84239_2-300x400.jpg)
Children's Books
London, Robert Hale, 1946.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
From a series of titles recounting the adventures of Big Dragon and Co., difficult in the original jacket.
Children's Books
London, The National Magazine Co. Ltd, 1946.
True first edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A scarce first edition of this collection of the quirky and imaginative short stories by the Famous Five and Noddy creator.
Modern Literature
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1939.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A great first edition of this uncommon 'thirties title in the jacket. The tale of one man's increasingly desperate attempts to avoid mediocrity.
Weird & Supernatural
A practical treatise in support of the assertion that the hand-writing of a person is an infallible guide to his character
London, William Rider, 1919.
Third edition, revised & enlarged. 8vo. Original cloth. Printed dust-jacket.
A scarce graphological work, particularly in the original dust-jacket and in such condition. The eldest daughter of an eminent London newspaper man, Rosa Baughan was a prolific writer on spiritualist subjects, including graphology, divination and the influence of the stars.
Children's Books
London, Methuen, July 1925.
Tenth edition, deluxe issue. 8vo. Original leather, gilt, gilt edges.
A wonderful, seemingly unread example of the deluxe leather-bound issue of the first title to feature Christopher Robin, originally published in November 1924.
Modern Literature
London, George Allen & Unwin, 1924.
First English edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
...a most delightful picture of the 'interior' of a well-to-do Amsterdam printer-publisher's house (jacket blurb). A nice example of a 1920s dust-jacket, by the British painter, illustrator and linocut artist Dorothy Burroughes.
Detective Fiction
Further Crime Investigations of Madame Storey.
London, Collins Crime Club, 1930.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth (red issue). Dust-jacket, second state, correctly priced 3/6.
The ongoing exploits of Footner's serial character, the brilliant lady detective, Madame Storey, set in Paris. The second issue jacket is to a wholly different design than the first, and as a result considered highly collectable.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, Methuen, 1939.First UK edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, cheaper issue jacket correctly priced 4s.6d.A scarce edition of this the third title in Burroughs' 'Pellucidar' series, set in a hollow earth environment. Wonderful jacket artwork.
Detective Fiction
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1959.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 12s.6d.
A couple discover that their child-sitter served a prison sentence for child murder, something they cannot square with the individual in question, sparking their own investigation and the unravelling of some strange secrets.
Detective Fiction
Iles (Frances, pseud. Anthony Berkeley Cox) Malice Aforethought.
The story of a commonplace crime
London, Mundanus / Gollancz, 1931.
First edition (preceding the hardback). 8vo. Original printed wrappers. Housed in morocco-backed cloth slip-case and chemise.
An uncommon work by Anthony Berkeley Cox, aka Anthony Berkeley. The work is significant in the genre of crime fiction as one of the earliest and finest examples of the inverted detective story, a technique which would go on to inspire numerous other authors, as well as film-makers - notably Hitchcock and his 1941 film Suspicion (actually based on another, similar Iles title).
Detective Fiction
London, Thornton Butterworth, [c.1934]..Crime Circle Novels series. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.An attractive edition of this teasingly lycanthropic novel, translated from the original French. The jacket design for the series is by Bip Pares, whose work also graced the jackets for Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker and James Hilton's Mr Chips titles, amongst many others.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Harrap, 1939.First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, price from inside flap removed by clumsy tear.An uncommon dust-jacket by jacket legend Youngman Carter, in better condition than normally found.
Detective Fiction
London, Jarrolds, [1927].First edition thus. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.Although originally published in 1909, this later edition is quite superb in the original dust-jacket.
Detective Fiction
London, Mills & Boon, 1929.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.
The first UK edition of this crime thriller; Mills & Boon today have a reputation for "romantic fiction", but they were early champions of several subsequently famous authors, including Jack London and P.G. Wodehouse.
Detective Fiction
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1964.
First edition. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket.
A very good first edition of this later Dr Palfrey tales, by one of the most prolific authors in the crime/thriller genre.
Modern Literature
The novel of the play by Arnold Ridley and Bernard Merivale
London, Selwyn & Blount, 1928.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
Striking jacket artwork adorns this tale of railway sabotage.
Modern Literature
London, Wright & Brown, [1934].
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
An attractive jacket on this Wright & Brown title from the early thirties; a woman is exhausted and disillusioned, and sets off on an adventure of self-discovery.
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.
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.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Heinemann, 1936.
First edition. 8vo. Original green boards. Dust-jacket.
A good first edition of Dunsany's classic humorous novel about an alcohol-loving clergyman who thinks he is the reincarnation of a dog...the jacket artwork says it all.
Sexuality & Erotica
London, Heinemann, 1936.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
What would happen? On this lively supposition Author Winter has written a tale that is blurbed as another 'South Wind' but is more like Somerset Maugham's spiteful 'Cakes and Ale' (Time Magazine, 1936)