THE DOUBLE EMPEROR: A STORY OF A VAGABOND CUNARDER. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1894. Octavo, pp. [1-8] [1] 2-238 [239-248: ads], flyleaves at front and rear, eight inserted plates with illustrations by Fred T. Jane, original pictorial gray cloth, front and spine panels stamped in green, red, black and gold. First U.S. edition. Emperor of an imaginary country in Europe requests a look-a-like member of his army to impersonate him and take over tiresome affairs of state. "Hi-tech nautical thriller involving the emperor of an imaginary country and modern piracy." - Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy III, p. 21. Not science fiction or fantasy; a super canon figures in the plot but is exposed as a confidence trick. In part a satire featuring extreme "ugly" Americans. Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 20. Negley, Utopian Literature: A Bibliography 213. Suvin, Victorian Science Fiction in the UK, p. 56. Not in Bleiler (1948; 1978) or Reginald (1978; 1992). Cloth rubbed at edges, some staining to rear cover, two plates are loose and one is frayed along bottom edges, a sound, good copy. (#113818).
Price: $25.00
No statement of printing on copyright page.