"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. "
— Oscar Wilde
Crime & Thrillers
Hilda Wade.
London: Grant Richards, 1900. First Edition. 8vo. Publisher's dark blue cloth titled and decorated in gilt to spine and front board. A used copy with some shelfwear,rubbed to extremities, gilt illustration rubbed to upper, discreet owner stamp to flyleaf, inside paper joint cracked. Very good. Illustrated throughout by Gordon Browne..... More
The Ability to Kill.....And Other Pieces.
London: The Bodley Head Ltd., 1963. [Murder/true crime] FIRST EDITION, corrected state. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.222. Publisher's light red cloth in a rather chilling pictorial dust jacket, illustrated by Don Higgins. Usual laminate shrinkage at joint else a fine copy. Not exactly bed-time reading! Ambler's examination of what kind..... More
The Ability to Kill.....And Other Pieces.
London: The Bodley Head Ltd., 1963. [Murder/true crime] FIRST EDITION, corrected state. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.222. Publisher's light red cloth in a rather chilling pictorial dust-jacket, illustrated by Don Higgins. Illustrated bookplate to flyleaf. Usual laminate shrinkage at joint, some soiling, spine and extremities toned. Very good... More
Epitaph For A Spy.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1938. [Haycraft-Queen cornerstone novel]. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (18 x 13cm), pp.287; [1], advertisement. Bound by the W.H. Smith and Son bindery in green cloth, titled in gilt to the spine. Some spotting and toning to page edges, cloth a little rubbed and darkened to extremities. Very..... More
The Mask Of Dimitrios.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1939. FIRST EDITION. A Haycraft-Queen cornerstone novel. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.320. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine. Internally very clean with no ownership marks, bookplates or inscriptions. Covers are fresh but for a little sunning to spine, a few small marks and the..... More
The Night-Comers.
London: William Heinemann, 1956. [Thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[vi]; 233. Publisher's orange cloth with gilt titles to spine, in decorative dust-jacket designed by Judith Bledsoe, priced at 13/6. Book is clean and fresh, jacket is bright, with some small chips to crown. Near fine. Set in South..... More
Uncommon Danger.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1937. [Intrigue] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.314; [6], advertisements. Publisher's pale blue cloth lettered in black, mid-blue endpapers, pictorial jacket by Gibbs, priced 7/6. Trivial toning to edge of text block, jacket with very light rubbing/wear to extremities. Overall a lovely fine copy of..... More
The Man Who Killed Hitler.
London: T. Werner Laurie, 1939. [Anti-Nazi Novel] UK FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.113, [1]; [14] publisher's advertisements. Publisher's black cloth with titles in yellow, in yellow typographic dust-jacket showing printed price of 3/6 net to the spine. Binding is tight, printing crisp with no spotting. Dust-wrapper is bright..... More
Flyaway.
London: Collins, 1978. [Thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.318. With a map. Publisher's tan cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by David Leeming, not priced. Light shelf-wear. Some minor bruising and a couple of small closed tear to top edge of jacket. Near fine..... More
The Ten Holy Horrors.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1939. First edition. Octavo. Near fine in publisher's black cloth titled in red to spine and front board, with the illustrated dust-jacket. Clean and sharp, minor edgewear and bumping to spine ends. In a near fine dustwrapper, clean and bright with very slight edgewear to extremities..... More
The Decoy.
London: William Collins Ltd., 1927. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.[ii]; 251; [1], imprint. Publisher's burgundy cloth in illustrated jacket priced at 3/6 (title was likely published at 7/6, although we are certain this particular jacket has always been with this book). Some trivial dustiness handling and..... More
A Tangled Web.
London: Collins, 1956. [Crime novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.255; [1], blank. Publisher's black cloth with green titles to spine, illustrated dust-jacket by Kenneth Farnhill priced at 12s. 6d. The book was issued in both Crime Club (red cloth) and Collins (black cloth) bindings. Some dustiness to edges..... More
The Mystery of Belvoir Mansions.
London: Ward, Lock and Co., 1929. Octavo, pp.128. Bound in publisher's pictorial white paper wraps, with illustration by Abbey to front panel. Advertisements to inner of wraps. In remarkable condition, considering age and format. Wraps appear clean and bright, with no visible marks. Textblock age toned. Tight, strong binding. Very..... More
The Red Rat's Daughter. Illustrated by Henry Austin.
London: Ward, Lock and Co., 1899. First Edition. Octavo, (20 x 14cm), pp.384. With occasional half-tone plates by Austin, including a frontispiece. Publisher's dark blue cloth with titles and elaborate decoration in gilt to spine and upper. Light rubbing to cloth; front endpapers browned. Very good. More
The Dead Side of the Mike.
London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1980. [Crime thriller] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.176. Publisher's red cloth, titles in gilt to spine, dust-jacket with printed price of £4.95 net. Inscribed by the author to the copyright page: "with love | from | Simon | 11th June 1980". Cloth sunned..... More
Inferno.
London: Bantam Press, 2013. [Thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (25 x 17cm), pp.[xii]; [466]. Publisher's pictorial paper covered boards with titles in white to spine, in pictorial dust-jacket designed by Claire Ward. Some minor bumps and shelfwear. Near fine. The fourth book in the Robert Langdon series; Langdon wakes up with..... More
Mr. Standfast.
London: Hodder and Stoughton. 1919. Advance proof copy. 8vo. Publisher's original plain brown wraps, slightly spotted with minor edgewear. Internally clean, unifom light toning to page block. A most unusual and scarce advance proof copy of Mr. Standfast, one of Buchan's scarcer Richard Hannay stories. Protected by a tailor-made brown..... More
The Courts of The Morning.
Boston, Houghton Mifflin. 1929. First US edition. 8vo. Very good in publisher's green cloth titled in red to spine and front board. Light edgewear, slight bumping to spine ends, minor abrasion to top edge front board. In a strong, sharp example of the pictorial dustwrapper with shallow wear and chipping..... More
The Courts of the Morning. A Richard Hannay novel.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1929. FIRST EDITION. 8vo. Publisher's light blue cloth (also issued in green cloth) with title and trim printed in black. Minor wear and discolour to cloth. Very good. A dramatic series of adventures which take place against the backdrop of a small South American Republic that..... More
![The Island of Sheep. [A Richard Hannay Novel]. John BUCHAN](/pictures/thumb/52494.jpg?v=1584533229)
The Island of Sheep. [A Richard Hannay Novel].
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1936. [Spy Thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.318; [2]. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine and gilt 'JB' monogram to upper board, map printed to front endpapers, pictorial jacket priced at 7/6. No toning, no spotting. An immaculate copy of the book..... More
![The Island of Sheep. [A Richard Hannay Novel]. John BUCHAN](/pictures/thumb/53763.jpg?v=1558713535)
The Island of Sheep. [A Richard Hannay Novel].
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1936. [Spy Thriller] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.318. SIGNED by the author in black ink to title page. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine. Illustrated maps to front endpapers. With the colour-illustrated dust-jacket by Chesterman, priced at 7/6. Rear flyleaf removed..... More
The Island of Sheep. A Richard Hannay Novel.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1936. [Adventure novel]. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.318. Publisher's green cloth in pictorial dust-wrapper. A little spotting, jacket with a few chips, marks and tears. A most presentable early printing in the year of the first, now benefitting from a full colour dustwrapper as part of..... More
Mr Standfast.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1919. [Spy thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.412. Publisher's mid-blue cloth, titled and ruled in dark blue, titled and ruled in dark blue. Light toning to text block, trivial marks to cloth, spine a fraction off-colour else a particularly clean, bright copy. An attractive..... More
The Power-House.
Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1916. [Thriller]. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.x; 238. Publisher's red cloth, titles in black to spine and upper. Textblock browned as expected, endpapers to rear gutter split with the gauze showing through, binding still sound. Slight reading lean. A few small..... More
![The Thirty-Nine Steps [39 Steps], John BUCHAN](/pictures/thumb/50730.jpg?v=1584533210)
The Thirty-Nine Steps [39 Steps],
London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1915. [Espionage thriller]. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.253; [1]; [2], publisher's advertisements. Publisher's blue cloth boards with dark blue embossed lettering to spine and upper. Browning to page edges, though less than would normally be expected. Reading lean; spine sunned. Very good, in..... More