JOHNNY LUDLOW ... SIXTH SERIES. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1899. Octavo, pp. [1-8] [1] 2-398 [1]-10: ads [note: first leaf is a blank], original smooth olive green cloth, front panel stamped in black, spine panel stamped in gold, top edge untrimmed, fore and bottom edges rough-trimmed. First edition. Mixed collection of Victorian sensational romances, including "The Silent Chimes," bells toll misfortune for a cursed family; marginal supernaturalism. Although publisher's advertisements list this book as a "New Edition," it is in fact a first edition (see Sadleir). "A prolific writer, Wood wrote a large amount of fiction, including the Johnny Ludlow series of short stories. The tales, narrated by a teenage country boy, sometimes feature mysterious and macabre incidents and were immensely popular throughout the Victorian period. By the time of her death in 1887, Wood had sold over five million books. Although often classed as a sensational novelist, Wood's literary talents are considerably more sophisticated than those of other writers of commercial fiction of the period. Although perfectly capable of producing the over-sentimental and moralistic pulp fiction her public demanded, Wood could also create works of considerable literary merit, as EAST LYNNE clearly demonstrates. Combining originality with great narrative skill, several of her ghost stories surely rank among the greatest of the Victorian era." - Wilson. Shadows in the Attic, pp. 500-01. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1738. Hubin (1994), p. 876. Sadleir 3345. Wolff 7276. A fine copy. (#77471).
Price: $250.00
No statement of printing.