LIGHT AND DARKNESS; OR, MYSTERIES OF LIFE. By Mrs. Catherine Crowe, Author of "The Nightside of Nature," Susan Hopley," &c. In Three Volumes. London: Henry Colburn, Publisher, Great Marlborough Street, 1850. Octavo, three volumes: pp. [i-ii] [i-iii] iv [v-vi] [1-3] 4-314; [i-vi] [1] 2-320; [i-vi] [1] 2-312, cloth. First edition. The second of Crowe's collections, preceded by THE NIGHT SIDE OF NATURE (1848) and followed by GHOSTS AND FAMILY LEGENDS (1859), this one "turned to case studies of human villainy, including 'The Lycanthropist,' the tale of Sergeant Bertrand, who later served as the model for Guy Endore's THE WEREWOLF OF PARIS. Also of interest is the more traditional 'Monk's Story.' ... Crowe related her true narratives with many fictional devices, dialogue for example, which, far from being a detraction, add considerably to their flavor and charm. In these collections the line between fiction and journalism is, like the line between fact and fancy, a fine one indeed." - Sullivan (ed), The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural, p. 106. Ashley, Who's Who in Horror and Fantasy Fiction, p. 60. Wilson, Shadows in the Attic, p. 164. Sadleir 665. A copy from the Hammersmith Area Library collection rebound in plain brown cloth gilt stamped spine panels. Each volume has a slip with pocket affixed to the front free endpaper. Volume three is missing a half title leaf. There is some scattered foxing and staining to the text leaves, the stains, probably from pressed flowers now gone, mainly on pages 241-250 of volume I, and ink stains on pages 88-89 of volume III. This copy appears to have been added to the library's collection in the 1980s -- it was never checked out. A very scarce book. (#171829).
Price: $850.00
No statement of printing.