STANHOPE OF CHESTER A MYSTERY by Percy Andreae. London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, 1894. Octavo, pp. [1-4] [1] 2-337 [338: printer's imprint] + [1-10] undated publisher's advertisements], publisher's decorated blue cloth, front panel stamped in black, spine panel stamped in black and gold, top edge untrimmed, other edges rough-trimmed, decorated endpapers. First edition. "Over the years, Jim Jamieson and George Wetherington, two businessmen who are good friends, occasionally run into Gerald Stanhope, a mysterious friend of Wetherington's from college. Although Stanhope is always polite and extremely kind, speaking fondly of Wetherington, Wetherington seems terrified of Stanhope whenever they meet. When his commercial ventures suffer a devastating loss, Wetherington leaves his daughter, Margery, in Jamieson's care and disappears. Jamieson soon tracks Wetherington to a boarding house where he sees Stanhope leaving the room in which Wetherington has just shot himself. Jamieson is arrested for murdering Wetherington but is exonerated during his trial when the defense discovers a letter in Wetherington's own hand that reveals he was planning to commit suicide. Convinced that Stanhope is connected to Wetherington's death, Jamieson eventually discovers that Stanhope died 25 years earlier by his own hand after killing his wife because Wetherington, his closest friend, had seduced her away from him. The scenes detailing the various encounters with Stanhope are well done and are subtly uncanny, never revealing that the character is a ghost. STANHOPE OF CHESTER: A MYSTERY is unusual in that Stanhope is not the typical vengeful spirit hounding its victim to his doom; instead, Stanhope is always kind and concerned about Wetherington and his affairs. The novel received very positive reviews when it was first published, praising its originality, but despite effective touches and being well written, the narrative gets bogged down with tedious details about the domestic lives of its characters, Wetherington's business dealings, and Jamieson's trial. Percy Andreae (1958-1924) was an English-American brewer who became an influential anti-prohibitionist in the early part of the twentieth century. In addition to numerous tracts criticizing the temperance movement, Andreae wrote five novels, including an early alternate history, THE VANISHED EMPEROR (1896)" (Boyd White)."... the most notable ghost story that has appeared for many years ... markedly original ..." (The Bookman, March 1896, p. 17). Glover and Greene, Victorian Detective Fiction 10. Wolff 147. Slight binding lean, spine panel a bit darkened with small stain to same, a very good copy. Signed "Mary Andreae / 1894" at the top edge of the half title page; perhaps a family copy? (#178236).
Price: $650.00
No statement of printing.