FIVE INDIAN TALES. London: Student Christian Movement, 1925. Octavo, original blue cloth. First edition. Posthumously published collection of short fiction (five stories, one of novelette length) by an English missionary whose short career was spent in India, largely as chaplain to British troops. Shearwood died in Delhi at the age of 37 and this collection was brought out a year after his death. Includes a brief introduction by The Rev. P. N. F. Young, a Delhi friend and colleague of Shearwood. "A Pair of Cuff-Links" is borderline supernatural: after one too many thefts in his house, a sahib brings in a "thief-finder," a Muslim worker of jadu (magic) who will by occult means ferret out the identity of the thief (who is a member of the household staff). The credulity of the natives plays into the bluff of the witch-finder, and the culprit is caught. The magic is all sham, but is depicted with nice attention to mood and detail. Interesting also as a detective story. "The Wealth of Ram Parshad" involves some chemical trickery in a criminous plot. "Clever psychological studies." - Gupta, India in English Fiction 1881. Mild sunning to spine panel, some foxing to preliminary leaves, else a bright, very good copy. (#113543).

Price: $75.00

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Printing identification statement for this book:
"First published December, 1925" on copyright page.