Golden Age of Detective Fiction

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  • DEATH OF JEZEBEL. by Brand, Christianna (1907-1988)
    Brand, Christianna (1907-1988)
    DEATH OF JEZEBEL.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: Dodd, Mead, 1948. dj. Hardcover first edition - Classic mystery (the US edition preceded the UK) Times Literary Supplement, called this "A very neat version of the sealed room mystery [which] provides [Miss Brand] with excellent opportunities to indulge her sense of character and her pleasantly malicious wit, as well as her gift for posing an ingenious problem." At Elysian Hall, a grand exhibition space in post-War London, a cast has been assembled for a medieval-themed pageant show replete with knights in coloured armour, real horses and a damsel in a rickety tower on high. With death threats discovered by members of the troupe before the show, the worst comes to pass when the leading lady is…

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    New York: Dodd, Mead, 1948. dj. Hardcover first edition - Classic mystery (the US edition preceded the UK) Times Literary Supplement, called this "A very neat version of the sealed room mystery [which] provides [Miss Brand] with excellent opportunities to indulge her sense of character and her pleasantly malicious wit, as well as her gift for posing an ingenious problem." At Elysian Hall, a grand exhibition space in post-War London, a cast has been assembled for a medieval-themed pageant show replete with knights in coloured armour, real horses and a damsel in a rickety tower on high. With death threats discovered by members of the troupe before the show, the worst comes to pass when the leading lady is thrown from the tower before the eyes of the audience by an unknown assailant with all doors backstage also under observation. Author Martin Edwards commented that it "is still regarded as one of the great masterpieces of the classic mystery genre for its fiendishly constructed puzzle, memorable setting, dumbfounding acts of misdirection and thrilling denouement." 214 pp. ISBN: 978-1728278568.

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    Condition: Ex-library lending library with the usual markings, and many signs of wear, including a long list of borrowers on the rear endpaper, attesting to its popularity. But despite its many flaws, it is a sturdy and straight and very readable copy in a somewhat worn but still bright and attractive dust jacket.

    Book ID: 88870
    View cart More details Price: $350.00
  • DESTINATION UNKNOWN. by Christie, Agatha.
    Christie, Agatha.
    DESTINATION UNKNOWN.

    Edition: First printing.

    London: The Crime Club by Collins, (1954) dj. Hardcover first edition - A classic novel by Christie, full of her trademark sudden twists, but unusual in that it is in the world of espionage, set in Morocco where the wife of a vanished scientist has gone "on vacation?". 192 pp.

    Condition: Very good in red boards in a very good dust jacket (usual toning to the pages,some spine slant, wear to the dj at the ends of the spine and the corners, price-clipped)

    Book ID: 88033
    View cart More details Price: $100.00
  • CARDS ON THE TABLE. by Christie, Agatha.
    Christie, Agatha.
    CARDS ON THE TABLE.

    Edition: Early vintage reprint of this novel originally published in 1936,

    New York: Collier Books, (c 1936) dj. Hardcover - "Murder over the bridge table; somebody trumped with a thin steel dagger to the heart!" An early Hercule Poirot mystery. 262 pp.

    Condition: Near fine (toning to the pages) in embossed burgundy cloth in a fine facsimile dust jacket with the art from the Grosset and Dunlap edition.

    Book ID: 87831
    View cart More details Price: $45.00
  • FOLLOW THAT BLUE CAR. by Walling, R. A. J. (Robert Alfred John, 1869-1949)
    Walling, R. A. J. (Robert Alfred John, 1869-1949)
    FOLLOW THAT BLUE CAR.

    Edition: First printing.

    London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1933. Hardcover first edition - Extremely uncommon second title in the Tolefree series - "Tolefree receives an anonymous letter telling him, "If you happen to be on the Paybury Road to-morrow afternoon, the 28th . . . you will encounter something of considerable interest. . . . Look out for an unmistakably blue car--and keep your eye on it." 319 pp. ISBN: my18.

    Condition: Very good in the original blue (of course) cloth, lacking the dust jacket. Sunning to the spine, slightly cocked, but otherwise a tight and clean copy.

    Book ID: 87707
    View cart More details Price: $150.00
  • THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS. by Christie, Agatha.
    Christie, Agatha.
    THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS.

    Edition: Facsimile edition - first thus.

    London: Harper Collins, (2007) dj. Hardcover - First printing of this facsimile edition of this early Christie novel, a story of multiple assumed identities, originally published in 1925. Includes the wrap-around band publicizing these facsimile editions. 205 pp. ISBN: 978-0-007265213.

    Condition: Fine in a fine dust jacket. Although published relatively recently, these editions, complete with the priced advertising band, are relatively uncommon on the market.

    Book ID: 85502
    View cart More details Price: $85.00
  • HE WOULDN'T KILL PATIENCE. by Dickson, Carter (pseudonym of John Dickson Carr, 1906-1977)
    Dickson, Carter (pseudonym of John Dickson Carr, 1906-1977)
    HE WOULDN'T KILL PATIENCE.

    Edition: First printing.

    New York: The Hampton Publishing Company / William Morrow, 1944. Hardcover first edition - A scarce classic locked room mystery from the Golden Age of detective fiction, featuring Sir Henry Merrivale and his long-time associate, Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Humphrey Masters and set against the backdrop of blackouts and bombings in the early days of the London Blitz. "Patience" is tree-snake from Borneo, and when it appears that Benton, the director of the Royal Albert Zoological Gardens has committed suicide, his daughter is sure that he did not do it, because "he wouldn't kill Patience."

    Condition: Very good in salmon-colored boards - some light toning to the page, but otherwise a tight, clean and straight copy. No dust jacket.

    Book ID: 83388
    View cart More details Price: $75.00
  • ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE MURDERS: Tales of Perfidious Albion. by Godfrey, Thomas, editor.
    Godfrey, Thomas, editor.
    ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE MURDERS: Tales of Perfidious Albion.

    Edition: 2nd printing.

    New York: Mysterious Press, (1988) dj. Hardcover - "Classic Crime Fiction Of Britain's Upper Crust" edition and with an introduction by Thomas Godfrey. Includes stories by Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, John Dickson Carr, Dorothy Sayers Margery Allingham, P. D. James, Arthur Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, Ngaio Marsh, R. Austin Freeman, Christianna Brand and more. 348 pp. ISBN: 0-892963557.

    Condition: Good (binding cracked before half title page, gift inscription) in a near fine dust jacket.

    Book ID: 79054
    View cart More details Price: $12.50
  • APPLEBY'S END. by Innes, Michael (pseudonym of J.I. M. Stewart).
    Innes, Michael (pseudonym of J.I. M. Stewart).
    APPLEBY'S END.

    Edition: First printing.

    London: Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1945. Hardcover first edition - An early mystery novel featuring Detective Inspector John Appleby - the title refers to a railroad station. It is in this novel that a young Appleby becomes engaged to the sculptor Judith Raven. Printed on very thin wartime paper. 152 pp.

    Condition: Very near fine in a very near fine example of the distinctive yellow, red and black dustjackets used by Gollancz (uncommon in the first edition and especially so in this condition.) .

    Book ID: 70880
    View cart More details Price: $100.00
  • DEATH BY REQUEST. by John, Romilly and Katherine; Introduction by Patricia Craig and Mary Cadogan.
    John, Romilly and Katherine; Introduction by Patricia Craig and Mary Cadogan.
    DEATH BY REQUEST.

    Edition: First thus- a trade paperback.

    London: Hogarth Press, (1984). Reissue of the only crime novel published by this married couple (she is best known for her works of translation) but one with the typical twists and turns of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Originally published in 1933, this edition includes a new Introduction by Patricia Craig and Mary Cadogan. The Hogarth Crime Series focuses on re-issuing both unjustly forgotten crime novels and those justly famous from this era. 340 pp. ISBN: 0-701219130.

    Condition: Fine in glossy illustrated wrappers.

    Book ID: 66639
    View cart More details Price: $12.50