CALLED BACK ... Arrowsmith's Bristol Library Vol. I. Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, 11 Quay Street. London: Griffith & Farran, St. Paul's Churchyard, 1884. Small octavo, pp. [1-4] [1] 2-194 [note: lacks original paper wrappers]. First book edition, first printing (title page dated 1884). Published earlier as ARROWSMITH'S CHRISTMAS ANNUAL FOR 1883. Conway's first full-length fiction, a novel which brought him worldwide fame and established the formula and format of the Victorian shilling shocker. "... this sensational story of murder, amnesia, Siberian exile, political assassination and detection made a tremendous hit. It was translated all over Europe, a dramatized version ran for a year, and the novel sold over 350,000 copies in four years." - Sutherland, Victorian Fiction, p. 222. "Sensational novel of mystery and crime with an element of fantasy ..." - Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 58. Hubin (1994), p. 184. Sadleir 608. Wolff 1423a. Not in Bleiler (1948; 1978) or Reginald (1979; 1992). [Bound with] Conway, Hugh. AT WHAT COST AND OTHER STORIES ... London: John and Robert Maxwell, n.d. [1885]. Small octavo, pp. [1-5] 6-173 [174: printer's imprint] [note: lacks original paper wrappers and advertising leaf (pages 175-176)]. First edition. Collects three stories, "At What Cost," "The Story of a Sculptor," and "Capital Wine," none of which appear to be fantastic. The first two are romantic melodramas, the third a whimsical tale about an executor who struggles to preserve a magnificent wine cellar from the depredations of a tee-totaling relative. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 58. Hubin (1994), p. 184. Sadleir 606. Wolff 1421. [Bound with] Conway, Hugh. DARK DAYS ... Arrowsmith's Christmas Annual 1884. Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, 11 Quay Street. London: Griffith, Farran, Okeden & Welsh, St. Paul's Churchyard, 1884. Small octavo, pp. [1-4] [1] 2-178 [note: lacks original paper wrappers, the preliminary leaf of ads, and the advertising leaves at rear (pages 179-192)]. First edition, preceding the book edition. Criminous sensation novel. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 58. Not in Hubin (1994). Sadleir 611. Wolff 1424. Three books bound in one volume, three-quarter red leather and marbled boards, spine richly tooled in gold, five raised bands, leather title piece, marbled edges, marbled endpapers. Binding worn at spine ends and corners, hairline crack along outer front joint, but hinge still holding tight, a very good copy. AT WHAT COST is uncommon, as are the first printings of CALLED BACK and DARK DAYS. (#131009).
Price: $350.00
No statement of printing.