THE ISLE OF THE DEAD. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1911. Octavo, pp. [i-vi] vii-viii [1] 2-325 [326: printer's imprint] + undated 32 page publisher's catalogue at rear, original red cloth, front panel stamped in gold and ruled in white, spine panel stamped in gold. First edition. A romantic adventure novel set in California and Alaska. A young Californian travels for his heath to a remote Aleutian island. Gold is discovered beneath the old Indian burial ground on the island. The hero, a "natural man," friend of the Indians, and now a new millionaire returns by sea to San Francisco just in time to stumble into the earthquake and fire of 1906 and to spend his honeymoon in Yosemite (pages 279-321), where, returning from the valley by way of Wawona, a series of stages, including that in which the hero is riding, are held up by a highwayman who ultimately is killed by a young passenger (this is based in part on a real incident, but the bandit got away). The author, a prolific Irish writer, visited many far-flung parts of the world and wrote both travel literature and popular fiction, often using such places as settings. "Crommelin wrote voluminously, but her fiction is quite insubstantial and aimed at the indiscriminate female reader." - Sutherland, Victorian Fiction, p. 162. According to the publisher, R. Williams (A. Williams on the title page) "knows [Alaska] thoroughly. "Not the least interesting part of the story is that which deals with the strange rites and customs of a tribe of Alaskan Indians." Loeber and Loeber C525. Mild spine fade, a bright, very good copy. Scarce. (#167281).
Price: $250.00
No statement of printing.