20th Century Classics

Hornblower and the Hotspur – C.S. Forester – First Edition 1962

First edition published by Michael Joseph, London in 1962. Octavo, 266 pages, blue cloth covered boards, very good dust jacket, top page edge toned otherwise very clean.

The tenth volume in the Hornblower series and we make it third in chronological order. The last finished Hornblower novel “Crisis” being incomplete at Forester’s death.

Set in 1803 with war with France imminent Hornblower is promoted to Commander and given the Sloop HMS Hotspur. Sent off to enforce the blockade at Brest … does his usual super job not without difficulty and danger. Cornwallis considers him for promotion to Post-Captain … a position achieved when he executes his plan to deliver false documents to the French … it all had a bearing on “Trafalgar”.

Hornblower’s career develops with bravery and cunning

$40.00

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Jacob’s Ladder – E Phillips Oppenheim – 1921

An early Oppenheim published by Burt, New York just a few months after the first. Super condition.

Octavo, 303 pages, exceptionally clean, perfect dust jacket.

Jacob Pratt does it tough financially after his brother cannot repay a sizeable sum. Years later he is in the money courtesy of the same brother who has struck oil in the US of A.

He decides to manage his money carefully but still develop a new interest – saving people from the “sharks” of the world. It leads to some interesting situations including being held captive in a Scottish tower. Some good life lessons in this one!

Oppenheim intrigue and money advice wrapped up in adventure.

$70.00

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The Green Bay Tree – Louis Bromfield – 1926

Published by Grosset & Dunlap, New York in 1926 having been first published two years earlier. Octavo, 341 pages, absolutely super condition in a complete and very decorative dust jacket.

No one really knows any one else. There is always a part that remains secret and hidden, concealed to the deepest part of the soul. An epic saga like novel based around the lives of Julia Shane and her two daughters in rapidly changing times.

Louis Bromfield (1896-1956) on of the great American authors of the first half of the 20thC. After returning to America as a WWI hero he took to writing and this book was the first great success among many. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1927. He was also a framer and conservationist, his Malabar Farm in Ohio is magnificent and supported by an active Foundation today. Bromfield mixed with many of the movers and shakers of the day. Bogart and Bacall were married at Malabar Farm.

$50.00

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Envoy Extraordinary – E Phillips Oppenheim – 1940

Espionage at the brink of WWII this edition published by Triangle and offshoot of Little Brown, New York in 1940.

Octavo, 307 pages, printed on “war paper’ hence the normal even toasting of the paper. Otherwise a very nice copy in a very good dust jacket indeed.

the Earl of Matresser returns to his Norfolk estate after years of hunting and spying in Africa and Asia. Europe is rumbling and the powers that be seek to restore the balance by promoting Monarchy in Germany and elsewhere. What was Rosa Von Kampf doing in England – is she the guiding figure behind the attempt on Pilot Number Seventeen’s life?

Classic Oppenheim – usual dust jacket art.

$60.00

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The Damon Runyon Omnibus [Including Guys and Dolls] – 1944

A first of kind published by Sun Dial Press, garden City, New York in 1994. High quality production despite the war years. Note this is the novel not the musical narrative …

Largish octavo, 505 pages, a few chips to what otherwise is a super dust jacket – very good copy overall.

Damon Runyon was the man behind “Guys and Dolls” and much more on Broadway here are three of his stories, first published in this form – “Money From home”, “Blue Plate Special” and the aforementioned all-time hit.

Much compared with P.G. Wodehouse … which is three stars to start ….

“When you see a sport and his cash has run short – Make a bet that he’s banking it with some doll
When a guy wears tails with front gleaming white – Who the hell do you think he’s tickling pink
… on Saturday night?”

A rarity that takes you back

$50.00

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Winesburg Ohio [A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life] – Sherwood Anderson

A classic Modern Library edition published just after WWII in 1947. Octavo, 303 pages, dust jacket with some edge wear otherwise a very good copy.

Likely Sherwood Anderson’s most admired work. Considered as one of the first books of Modernist Literature. A collection of twenty-two stories, generally described as a “short story cycle” i.e. they are all connected.

Interestingly, the place Winesburg Ohio is fictitious even though there is of course a Winesburg Ohio. The place in the stories is believed to have been based around Clyde in Ohio where Anderson was brought up …. Characters and locations are familiar.

Written in a direct unambiguous manner dealing with character over plot. Much admired and possibly directly influenced by Gertrude Stein with whom he communicated. Comparisons with Hemingway, Steinbeck etc made Voyager pick up this book and not leave it ’til done.

Winesburg Ohio so specific but could be anywhere.

SO SORRY SOLD

$30.00

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Hornblower and the Hotspur – C.S. Forester – First Edition 1962

Jacob’s Ladder – E Phillips Oppenheim – 1921

The Green Bay Tree – Louis Bromfield – 1926

Envoy Extraordinary – E Phillips Oppenheim – 1940

The Damon Runyon Omnibus [Including Guys and Dolls] – 1944

Winesburg Ohio [A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life] – Sherwood Anderson

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