London: Hodder and Stoughton 1938. [Intrigue] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.320; [6], advertisements. Publisher's pale blue cloth lettered in black, mid-blue endpapers, striking 'bullet' jacket by Thomson, priced 7/6. A few descreet blue ink numbers to rear pastedown, cloth toned to extremities. Jacket with a few chips and tears, and a little soiling. Shows well. The author's fourth and final classic pre-war thriller, thrillers which established his reputation as a spy writer; "The pioneer of the sophisticated espionage novel and widely regarded as the inventor of the modern political thriller" [Gilbert; Ian Fleming The Bibliography, p.634]. Item #59474

Price: £1,850.00