(price-clipped?) [minimal shelfwear to book, some dust-darkening to top of text block; jacket front flap clipped rather weirdly (although the printed price is still present), a few small chips along top edge and at spine extremities (about 3/4-inch torn away at top of spine, impacting most of the author's name thereupon), light soiling and general wear]. "This picaresque tale of adventure is unusual in its theme -- that the American Revolution was won in Europe -- and in following a part of history hitherto neglected in fiction, the roles played by Benjamin Franklin, the Lees of Virginia,... View More...
[spine slightly turned, moderate dust-soiling to top edge, previous owner's signature on ffep; jacket shows minor surface wear, light soiling (mostly to rear panel)]. A multi-generational, multi-ethnic novel of Los Angeles, spanning the 1880's through World War II, "a story whose color, violence, and drama are equaled only by the history of Los Angeles itself." The authorial bio blurb on the jacket is a great joke, stating that Ms. Highland "was born in Shanghai, was a Van de Kamp's waitress, studied demotic Greek in Thessaloniki, and is a Rhodes scholar. Although she has publish... View More...
[moderate bumping to bottom corners, otherwise a nice clean book with minimal shelfwear; jacket edgeworn (and possibly insect-nibbled along the right edge of the front panel), faded at spine, with various tiny nicks and chips]. Historical "novel of Romantic Ireland," set against the background of Ireland's struggle for independence from England in the 19th century. At first glance, the jacket illustration -- which appears to be the flag of Israel crossed with a version of the "Irish harp" flag dating back to the 17th-century Confederacy of Ireland -- seems like an utter histo... View More...
[nice solid book, very slight dust-soiling to top and bottom edges of covers; jacket edgeworn, some shallow chipping along top edge, slight fading to spine, small puncture-tear near bottom of front hinge, original printed price on front flap obscured by black ink mark]. The author's first novel, biographical/historical fiction based on the "tempestuous life" of Henry William Stiegel (born Heinrich Wilhelm Stiegel, aka "Baron" Stiegel), who came to Philadelphia from Cologne, Germany, in 1750, and subsequently established himself as a renowned glassmaker and ironmaster, "whose name is perpetuat... View More...
[nice-looking copy, minimal shelfwear, faint dust-soiling to top of text block; jacket shows just minor bits of edgewear here and there, very small tear at lower right corner of front panel (on flap fold)]. (endpaper maps) Historical novel set during the War of 1812, specifically dealing with the Battle of Lake Erie. Laid in is an 8-page publisher's promotional booklet detailing the historical background of the book. View More...
(no dust jacket) [moderate shelfwear, spine slightly turned, tiny rip in cloth at top of spine, some dust-soiling to top edge]. Historical novel derived from the exploits of an 18th-century English highwayman, Henry Simms. The author, for reasons that are not quite clear (angling for a sale of the movie rights?), addresses the book's 4-page Dedication to Douglas Fairbanks Jr., citing the actor's "admiration for the heroic deeds of great men in the past," and at the same time begging his forgiveness "for placing your name before the fictional history of a notorious blackguard."... View More...
[lovely clean book with just a trace of wear at spine ends, attractive vintage bookplate on front pastedown (with the one-time child-owner's name neatly written in, probably by an adult); the jacket has some very minor chipping/creasing at the spine ends, with some very minimal paper loss]. (line drawings) An exceptionally nice copy of this historical novel for juvenile readers, a Newbery Honor recipient in 1932. Set at the court of Francois I, in 16th-century France, it describes the education and adventures of Pierre, who is training to be a knight; among the historical figures who pop up i... View More...
[shopworn copy, binding solid but with slight fraying to cloth along bottom edge and at top of spine, some discoloration to endpapers; jacket is well-worn, small tears and minor paper loss at several corners, faded at spine, old external tape reinforcements across both ends of spine extending into front and rear panels]. Historical novel, set from 1853 through 1901, centering around a Massachusetts minister and his young lawyer son who catch California fever, "the pull of the pioneering spirit," and set off for the West. "In a sweeping, panoramic novel of the turbulent years of gr... View More...
(price-clipped) [solid copy, minor shelfwear and very light soiling to bottom edge, small green "BTP" label on front pastedown; jacket a little worn at extremities, a few small tears, small scrape mark on front panel (slightly affecting author's middle initial)]. (endpaper maps) Novel about "an American Indian hero," an Apache whose life is traced from infancy to adulthood, "and through forty years of war against both the Mexicans and the 'White Eyes.'" In telling this story, the author "has also told the story of the Chiricahua Apaches, their eventual surrender t... View More...
[tight clean copy, minor shelfwear, light smudge on top edge; jacket browned at spine and fore-edge, several ragged tears, moderate soiling esp. to rear panel]. A group of four stories set during the Civil War. "Here the men on both sides of the war are seen, not as historical figures, but as living human beings bathed in an atmosphere of devastating reality. It is as if the [Matthew] Brady prints, in all their sharpness and honesty, had suddenly become infused with life, with sound and smoke, with the fear and tedium of war." The story titles are: "The Butcher's Bill"; "... View More...
[good solid book, age-toning to edges of text block, literary agency label (MCA Artists Ltd.) on ffep; jacket has small tears and slight paper loss at corners and both ends of spine]. "This is a story of violence, intrigue and revenge in the days just after the [American] Revolution when immigrants were pushing over the Allegheny Mountains to wrest possession of the rich new lands from the Indians, and when a small group of Spanish noblemen schemed with renegade Americans to seize the entire territory west of the mountains for their king." The novel's protagonists, brothers Elijah an... View More...
[good solid copy, slight bumping to top corners; jacket lightly rubbed and a bit soiled, very slight paper loss at several corners]. INSCRIBED (in Yiddish) and SIGNED by the author on the ffep. [See note at end of this description.] Historical novel dramatizing the murder of Uriah the Hittite by King David, "the climax of one of the ageless dramas of the Old Testament." Scarce novel (also known as "The Hittite Must Die") by one of Israel's most distinguished men of letters, who died in August 2004. He worked in many genres -- including drama, children's literature, poetry,... View More...
[moderate shelfwear, small nick at bottom of each board, light foxing to top edge, top corners slightly bumped; jacket shows a little wear and minor wrinkling along top and bottom edges]. INSCRIBED ("For _________ / affectionately," and SIGNED and dated (3 January 1982) by the author on the half-title page. Historical novel, "set in Texas in 1840 during its brief spell as an independent republic after the Mexican war and the Alamo tragedy." The primary character is "General Sam, a tough, hard-drinking hero, based on General Sam Houston," and the story unfolds "ag... View More...
[lovely, fresh copy, NOT the common book club edition, top corners bumped, date of original purchase written in red ink at top of front pastedown; otherwise book and jacket are both immaculate]. (endpaper maps) Historical novel set "at the close of the American Revolution, when England and Spain were at war along the lower Mississippi, [and] young Dr. John Powers, scion of an artistocratic but impoverished family, found himself in trouble with his Tory regiment in Pensacola. Unjustly dismissed after a pay-roll scandal, he made his way to Natchez, picking up en route an attractive, tough-... View More...
[very light dust-soiling to top edge, otherwise only a trace of shelfwear; jacket is clean and attractive, with minor wear and very slight paper loss at spine ends, a couple of tiny tears along top edge]. (line drawings) "An enthralling tale of mystery, adventure, and intrigue, told against the vivid background of medieval England," specifically the reign of King Henry II. The narrative hinges around one particular historical episode, the attempted invasion of England by the Flemish, who built a fleet of six hundred ships to accomplish this maneuver. "History is tantalizingly si... View More...
[clean, tight copy, with a few tiny brown spots on top edge, traces of shelfwear at bottom of boards; jacket spine a little sun-faded, and the front panel has a fair amount of pen-point surface- scratching (no ink), not too noticeable through the Brodart jacket, and a minor diagonal crease in the front flap]. The author' s second novel (a sequel to her first, "The Mists of Manittoo"), which continues the story of the young Englishwoman, Elizabeth Dowland, and her Native American husband, Wakwa Manunnappu, and their struggles "to build a life together [in 1748 America] in a world b... View More...
(price-clipped) [solid book, a bit of bumping and general wear to top and bottom edges, dust-soiling to top edge; jacket edgeworn, with a few light stains on the front panel, discolored section on spine]. Maritime horror novel about a haunted ship: "a sea story, a love story, and a ghost story in one." Dust jacket design credited to Bobritzky (Vladimir Bobritsky, aka "Bobri"). View More...
(price-clipped) [solid copy, light bump and slight crack to bottom front corner, brief gift inscription (non-authorial) at top of ffep; jacket edgeworn, several small tears, paper loss at several corners and at both ends of spine (but no loss of text)] Historical adventure novel about Blackbeard the Pirate (aka Edward Teach), "who ravaged the seas from Maine to Florida in the early 1700's. Corsair, murderer, rapist, Blackbeard established a legend which, for sheer grotesquerie, is unmatched in the annals of piracy." (And is it only me, or doesn't this dust-jacket depiction make him look lik... View More...
[good solid copy, minimal wear, top edge dust-darkened, a few spots on front pastedown and ffep, small bookstore stamp on front pastedown; jacket a bit edgeworn, a few small insect holes at rear flap foldover, minor chipping at top of spine]. "Reading [this book] is much like spending a vacation at an old Kentucky manor house. You cannot fail to respond to the warmth of Southern hospitality, and you will be sure to make many interesting and lasting friends. Your host, General Shelby, and the general's boss, a sixteen-year-old girl who recented inherited the estate of Cedarstone, will enter... View More...
[clean, solid copy, minor wear at extremities; jacket rubbed, edgeworn, rear panel moderately soiled, minor chipping/wrinkling at top of spine]. Novel set in Boston in 1721, with "the vigor and excitement of this lusty period of our early life portrayed in its full value. [The book] does not ruthlessly debunk nor does it too lightly gloss over the evils and prejudices of the early life in the colonies. Many outstanding American characters appear in this novel, Benjamin Franklin, Cotton Mather, Dr. William Douglass, and others. There is also described in very interesting detail the home lif... View More...
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