Fiction

Biggles Flies Again – Captain W.E. Johns

Published by Dean, London – in arrangement with Thames, no date but 1960’s.

Octavo, 1183 pages, one pen mark on end papers, pages somewhat browned as use with this edition. Dust jacket good all else good to better.

The swamps of British Guiana (British of course). An Arabian island and a Russian Agent

Biggles Again – of course!

$25.00

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The Knightly Quest – A Parody of Espionage Thrillers – (A Novella and Twelve Short Stories) – Tennessee Williams -1968

A first UK edition of this collection published by Secker and Warburg, London in 1968. A novella and twelve short stories. Three of the short stories had appeared in “One Arm” published in 1959 – see our copy.

Octavo, 253 pages, the novella “the Knightly Quest”, a parody of espionage thrillers comprises eighty odd pages. The short stories common with the earlier edition are .. The Poet; Chronicle of a Demise and Desire and the Black Masseur.

The new short stories are … Hard Candy; Rubio y Morena; The mattress by the Tomato Patch; The Vine; The Mysteries of the Joy Rio; Mama’s Old Stucco House; Man Bring This up Road; The Kingdom of Earth and “Grand”. The first two are variations on the same theme, with the same setting but with very different results … interesting idea.

The great Tennessee Williams -his shorter stories and one slightly longer

$40.00

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Candide: or, the Optimist – Voltaire – With Six Striking Full Page Watercolours [Aquarelles]

Voltaire [nom de plume for Francois-Marie Arouet the great 18thC French philosopher and satirist] wrote Candide in three days in the year 1759. It is hilarious and has inspired many comedic scribes.

Martin Seymour-Smith [poet and literary critic] regarded Candide as one of “The 100 Most influential Books Ever Written”. He was right.

This beautiful edition from the 1920’s published in Paris on the Champs-Elysees. It contains six unusual and striking aquarelles (watercolours) by Robert Polack.

Candide Beautifully Illustrated- French

$140.00

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The True-born English-man: A Satyr – Daniel Defoe – This Copy Published in 1716

A rare item by Daniel Defoe. The scarce “enlarged” edition printed and sold by James Roberts, London in 1716.

Pocket sized 12 mo, 12, 26 pages, bound in contemporary calf backed boards, some age and wear but solid and rare in this original state.

First edition thus. After the accession of Hanover Defoe added a new passage of 49 lines satirising the English temper. It was hastily published and contains a number of hasty error which ironically confirm its pedigree

A True-born English-man, satirical poem of length about xenophobia … a few could learn from it today. Dutch born William of Orange has become King of England, and there was much tittle tattle about his lack of English-ness. Defoe, forever a wit, wrote this is support of old William of Orange, ridiculing the notion of English racial purity. Well the evidence is there.

Defoe … much quoted from his opening rant

“that het’rogeneous thing, an Englishman:
In eager rapes, and furious lust begot
Betwixt a painted Britain and a Scot
Whose gend’ring off-spring quickly learn’d to bow,
And yoke their heifers to the Roman plough:
From whence a mongrel half-bred race there came,
With neither name, nor nation, speech nor fame.
In whose hot veins new mixtures quickly ran,
Infused betwixt a Saxon and a Dane
While their rank daughters, to their parents just,
Receiv’d all nations with promiscuous lust.
This nauseous brood directly did contain
The well-extracted blood of Englishmen.”

Daniel Defoe and his True-born a delicious antiquarian rarity … over three hundred year old!

$280.00

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The First 49 Stories – Ernest Hemingway

Published by Jonathan Cape a 1968 edition. Octavo, 414 pages a little fading of the lemon cover near and at the spine. Internally very clean … a very good copy.

The best introduction to Hemingway. Many favourites including “the Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”.

The Way into Hemingway ….

$40.00

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Islands in the Stream – Ernest Hemingway – First Edition 1970

This is the first UK edition published by Collins, London in 1970.

Large octavo, 398 pages with end paper maps. Very good if not better condition.

A major novel left among Hemingway’s writings at the time of death. Mary Hemingway said “The book is all Ernest’s. We have added nothing to it” … we believe her …

Hemingway’s Last Novel and a good one!

$60.00

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Biggles Flies Again – Captain W.E. Johns

The Knightly Quest – A Parody of Espionage Thrillers – (A Novella and Twelve Short Stories) – Tennessee Williams -1968

Candide: or, the Optimist – Voltaire – With Six Striking Full Page Watercolours [Aquarelles]

The True-born English-man: A Satyr – Daniel Defoe – This Copy Published in 1716

The First 49 Stories – Ernest Hemingway

Islands in the Stream – Ernest Hemingway – First Edition 1970

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