L. W. Currey, Inc.

Halidom, M. Y. (pseudonym of Alexander Huth). THE WOMAN IN BLACK A NOVEL by M. Y. Halidom [pseudonym]. London: Greening & Co., Ltd., 1906. Octavo, pp. [i-vii] viii [1] 2-320, original pictorial gray cloth, front panel stamped in yellow and black, spine panel stamped in black and gold. First edition. "Returning to his country home from the Boer War, Ashley Carruthers finds himself a victim of the mysterious Woman in Black who has been terrorizing the village of Abbotswood for over a century. Carruthers soon discovers that the Woman in Black is Mrs. Aubrey de Vere, a seemingly ageless widow, with pointed ears, pronounced canine teeth, and talon-like finger nails, whose breath smells 'like a charnel house.' In addition to her hypnotic sexuality, de Vere is able to project her astral self in the form of a large vampire bat and disappear into thin air at will. De Vere is actually an ancient Egyptian sorceress whose supernatural powers and ability to prolong her life by drinking human blood are granted to her by a magic ring she stole from the mummy of a high priest during the reign of Amenhotep III. The structure of Halidom's novel and its central conceits involve elements cobbled together from VANREY THE VAMPIRE (1847), DRACULA (1897), and THE BEETLE (1897). While THE WOMAN IN BLACK is not nearly as good as other rare vampire novels like IN THE DWELLINGS OF THE WILDERNESS (1904) or THE MARK OF THE BAT (1928), it is a well-written, highly entertaining read with a number of effective macabre sequences. The novel is also notable for the role that Nurse Everett, a young  woman with psychic gifts, plays in the final confrontation with the vampire." (Boyd White). Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy , p. 103 (this copy). Cloth worn, soiled and stained, inner front hinge cracked, front free endpaper missing, still a good copy of a rare book. Formerly, the "Spectrum" copy. (#170247).

Price: $3,500.00