THE LORD OF THE SEA. London: Grant Richards, 1901. Octavo, pp. [i-vii] viii [1] 2-496 [note: first leaf is a blank], original pictorial beige cloth, front panel stamped in red and black, spine panel stamped in black, t.e.g. First edition, first printing, first issue. THE LORD OF THE SEA, published in May 1901, is one of Shiel's most important and popular works. "... with the aid of a cache of diamonds recovered from a meteorite [Richard Hogarth] finances the building of giant floating fortresses that give him command of the sea-lanes. He uses this advantage to blackmail the nations into peace and social progress ... THE LORD OF THE SEA is exceptional in offering an elaborate account of the reforms demanded by Hogarth." - Stableford, Scientific Romance in Britain 1890-1950, pp. 77-8. "A brilliantly, highly imaginative work, conveying conviction despite its belated adherence to an early aesthetic of melodrama." - Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 2026. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-1003. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 691. Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 27. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 196. Negley, Utopian Literature: A Bibliography 1028. Bleiler (1978), p. 179. Reginald 13027. Morse, The Works of M. P. Shiel Updated (1980), pp. 93-101. Private owner's penciled signature on front free endpaper. Cloth lightly dust soiled, spine panel just a bit darkened, gold on top edge a bit tarnished, a very good copy. Overall a nice copy of a book seldom found in decent condition. (#130779).
Price: $750.00
No statement of printing.