GHOSTLY TALES. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1896. Octavo, pp. [1-2: blank] [3-8] 1-320, sixteen inserted plates with illustrations by Fred Hyland, publisher's decorated sage green cloth, front panel stamped in red and gold, spine panel stamped in gold, all edges untrimmed. First edition. An important late Victorian collection of ghost stories similar to those of Mrs. Baldwin and Mrs. Molesworth. "A rare collection of high quality Victorian ghost stories, which seems several decades ahead of its time. Fitzclarence's ghost stories are usually more swiftly paced than those of her contemporaries and this, coupled with a plain and direct writing style, have allowed the tales to retain their interest and bear reexamination by new generations of readers. Several of the author's stories have been revived by anthologists such as Hugh Lamb looking for powerful but less familiar supernatural material." - Wilson, Shadows in the Attic, p. 219. According to Robert Knowlton, the stories are "quite nicely written." Not in Bleiler (1948; 1978) or Reginald (1979; 1992). Cloth lightly rubbed at spine ends and corner tips, gold stamping on spine panel a bit dull, a very good copy with intact inner hinges, remarkable as the delicate endpapers are printed on wood pulp paper which are darkened, but are not cracked or brittle. A quite superior copy of a book that when found is usually is wretched condition. (#170782).
Price: $2,500.00
No statement of printing.