CURIOSITIES. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1904. Octavo, pp. [i-vi] vii-viii [1] 2-184, publisher's pictorial gray green wrappers printed in white and black. First edition. A collection of short fiction, including criminous and supernatural stories, the latter being "Awaiting Explanation" and "Post-Mortem." "The Cockatrice" recounts the delirium of a patient. "The Two Augurs" concerns a seance. "The Starlings" is a horror story with fantastic overtones about the vengeance wreaked by birds on a young woman who had done them an injury. "The Ordeal by Fire" is a macabre tale about a man whose business is (apparently) to facilitate suicides. "History of Norah S." is a horror tale of dual personality. Pain's humor holds up as well as his horror and he belongs to a very small club of writers able to mix the two together successfully. Wilson, Shadows in the Attic, p. 401. Hubin (1994), p. 624. NCBEL IV 698. Slight spine roll, wrappers rubbed at edges, pencil scribble on the half title page (perhaps the flamboyant initials of a former owner), a very good copy. A very nice copy of a very scarce book. (#179045).
Price: $750.00
No statement of printing.