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Murphy’s War -
Max Catto
1969 - Heinemann, London - First Edition
Basis for the movie starring Peter O’Toole and Siân Phillips. Set on the coast of equatorial Africa towards the end of WWII, Murphy is an Australian knockabout sailor from the Royal Navy, and the quarry is a U-boat that he pursues up a vile river from his base...
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Price HK$ 1,500
1969 - Heinemann, London - First Edition
Basis for the movie starring Peter O’Toole and Siân Phillips. Set on the coast of equatorial Africa towards the end of WWII, Murphy is an Australian knockabout sailor from the Royal Navy, and the quarry is a U-boat that he pursues up a vile river from his base...
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Price HK$ 1,500
The First Saint Omnibus. An Anthology of Saintly Adventures -
Leslie Charteris
1939 - Hodder & Stoughton Limited, London - First Edition of this Collection
A finely bound selection of thirteen short stories featuring 'The Robin Hood of Modern Crime'.
Simon Templar, ‘The Saint’, ‘is a rambunctious adventurer who believes in old-fashioned romantic ideals, alter-ego perhaps of his Singaporean born creator Leslie Charles Bowyer Yin Charteris. Templar is prepared to lay down his life for these ideals, using considerable wit and intelligence, the Saint has a preference for avenging innocent victims.
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Price HK$ 4,000
1939 - Hodder & Stoughton Limited, London - First Edition of this Collection
A finely bound selection of thirteen short stories featuring 'The Robin Hood of Modern Crime'.Simon Templar, ‘The Saint’, ‘is a rambunctious adventurer who believes in old-fashioned romantic ideals, alter-ego perhaps of his Singaporean born creator Leslie Charles Bowyer Yin Charteris. Templar is prepared to lay down his life for these ideals, using considerable wit and intelligence, the Saint has a preference for avenging innocent victims.
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Price HK$ 4,000
Sea Spy. A Naval Novel -
E. Keble Chatterton
1937 - Hurst & Blackett, London - First Edition
First edition in the rare and evocative dust jacket. Chatterton was one of Britain's best-known yachtsmen and maritime writers in the early part of the century.
‘Mr. Keble Chatterton has the art of the sea story at his finger tips and in “Sea Spy” he has combined a fast moving plot with plenty of thrills and action. John Trevenna, late of His Majesty’s Navy, is persuaded by his old chief, now the head of a new department of the Secret Service to give up a pleasure cruise in his one-man yacht, and use it instead to follow the activities of one Zouleki and his henchman Ptemnoff round the coasts of France... a vivid and fascinating tale.” – The Straits Times, Singapore 1937.
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Price HK$ 3,500
1937 - Hurst & Blackett, London - First Edition
First edition in the rare and evocative dust jacket. Chatterton was one of Britain's best-known yachtsmen and maritime writers in the early part of the century.‘Mr. Keble Chatterton has the art of the sea story at his finger tips and in “Sea Spy” he has combined a fast moving plot with plenty of thrills and action. John Trevenna, late of His Majesty’s Navy, is persuaded by his old chief, now the head of a new department of the Secret Service to give up a pleasure cruise in his one-man yacht, and use it instead to follow the activities of one Zouleki and his henchman Ptemnoff round the coasts of France... a vivid and fascinating tale.” – The Straits Times, Singapore 1937.
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Price HK$ 3,500
The Urgent Hangman - Inscribed to Dennis Wheatley -
Peter Cheyney
1938 - Collins, London - First Edition
Dennis Wheatley’s copy, inscribed by Peter Cheyney ‘To my good friend Dennis’ and dated ‘14. 6. 38’. With Wheatley’s illustrated bookplate.
A near fine copy of the first ‘Slim Callaghan’ novel, in fine and thus rare dust jacket.
Cheyney’s action-filled and action filled plots ran counter to the comfortable murder mysteries of the time, and Slim Callaghan was, like his American hard-boiled cousins, cynical tough and marginally mannered.
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Price HK$ 15,000
1938 - Collins, London - First Edition
Dennis Wheatley’s copy, inscribed by Peter Cheyney ‘To my good friend Dennis’ and dated ‘14. 6. 38’. With Wheatley’s illustrated bookplate.A near fine copy of the first ‘Slim Callaghan’ novel, in fine and thus rare dust jacket.
Cheyney’s action-filled and action filled plots ran counter to the comfortable murder mysteries of the time, and Slim Callaghan was, like his American hard-boiled cousins, cynical tough and marginally mannered.
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Price HK$ 15,000
Don’t Get Me Wrong - Inscribed to Dennis Wheatley -
Peter Cheyney
1939 - Collins, London - First Edition
First edition of Peter Cheyney’s fifth Lemmy Caution novel. In fine and thus scarce dust jacket.
From the library of Cheyney’s friend and fellow author Dennis Wheatley with his wonderfully illustrated bookplate, and inscribed on the title page ‘ToTo Dennis, from Peter Cheyney.’ On the back flap of the dust jacket is a review from Wheatley “Peter Cheyney is now becoming a definite menace to all other thriller writers; for who will read any other thriller writer but Cheyney if they can get a chance?”
Wheatley described Cheyney as ‘the greatest liar unhung but a magnificent story teller’.
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Price HK$ 9,000
1939 - Collins, London - First Edition
First edition of Peter Cheyney’s fifth Lemmy Caution novel. In fine and thus scarce dust jacket.From the library of Cheyney’s friend and fellow author Dennis Wheatley with his wonderfully illustrated bookplate, and inscribed on the title page ‘ToTo Dennis, from Peter Cheyney.’ On the back flap of the dust jacket is a review from Wheatley “Peter Cheyney is now becoming a definite menace to all other thriller writers; for who will read any other thriller writer but Cheyney if they can get a chance?”
Wheatley described Cheyney as ‘the greatest liar unhung but a magnificent story teller’.
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Price HK$ 9,000
The Riddle of the Sands -
Erskine Childers
1903 - Smith, London - First Edition, First Impression
A crisp, clean and rare first edition, finely bound.
Written after Childers, an accomplished yachtsman, returned injured from action in South Africa. Highlighting the encroaching conflict with Germany, the novel was highly influential and is actually credited with the founding of British naval bases at Invergordon and Scapa Flow; newly regarded as strategically important after examination of the scenarios in Childers' text. Winston Churchill later gave the book the credit for persuading public opinion to fund vital measures against the German naval threat.
Contentiously described as the first modern spy thriller, vying for the title with Kipling's 'Kim', published two years earlier.
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Price HK$ 21,000
1903 - Smith, London - First Edition, First Impression
A crisp, clean and rare first edition, finely bound.Written after Childers, an accomplished yachtsman, returned injured from action in South Africa. Highlighting the encroaching conflict with Germany, the novel was highly influential and is actually credited with the founding of British naval bases at Invergordon and Scapa Flow; newly regarded as strategically important after examination of the scenarios in Childers' text. Winston Churchill later gave the book the credit for persuading public opinion to fund vital measures against the German naval threat.
Contentiously described as the first modern spy thriller, vying for the title with Kipling's 'Kim', published two years earlier.
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Price HK$ 21,000
Crooked House -
Agatha Christie
1949 - Published for The Crime Club by Collins, London - First English Edition
‘Curious thing, rooms. Tell you quite a lot about the people who live in them’ – Chief Inspector Taverner.
Three generations of the Leonides family have live under the same roof of Three Gables, a large household over which the very old and very rich Aristide Leonides has long presided. However he was murdered by a poisoner, perhaps a member of his own family?
Agatha Christie once said ‘Writing Crooked House was pure pleasure and I feel justified in my belief that it is one of my best.’
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Price HK$ 5,000
1949 - Published for The Crime Club by Collins, London - First English Edition
‘Curious thing, rooms. Tell you quite a lot about the people who live in them’ – Chief Inspector Taverner.Three generations of the Leonides family have live under the same roof of Three Gables, a large household over which the very old and very rich Aristide Leonides has long presided. However he was murdered by a poisoner, perhaps a member of his own family?
Agatha Christie once said ‘Writing Crooked House was pure pleasure and I feel justified in my belief that it is one of my best.’
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Price HK$ 5,000
Crime Collection - 24 Volumes -
Agatha Christie
1969-1972 - Paul Hamlyn, London - First Edition Thus
The works by the ‘Queen of Crime’ - 72 novels and short story collections stunningly hand-bound in twenty four volumes (three titles per volume). An eye-catching and comprehensive set including all the elusive early titles, from The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to Hallowe'en Party and Passenger to Frankfurt.
The only major collection of Christie's novels to date, issued as a set for subscribers and endorsed by Agatha Christie. It includes all the published crime novels up to 1970, and features Agatha Christie’s foreword and facsimile signature in the first volume.
Christie’s works have stood the test of time. In 2013, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was voted the best crime novel ever by 600 fellow writers of the Crime Writers' Association, and she is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling novelist of all time, her novels have sold an estimated two billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind Shakespeare's works and the Bible. They have been translated into over 100 languages, with and Then There Were None selling over 100 million copies (as at 2014), making it the world’s best selling mystery ever.
Reference: Haycraft, Murder for Pleasure 129.
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Price HK$ 50,000
1969-1972 - Paul Hamlyn, London - First Edition Thus
The works by the ‘Queen of Crime’ - 72 novels and short story collections stunningly hand-bound in twenty four volumes (three titles per volume). An eye-catching and comprehensive set including all the elusive early titles, from The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to Hallowe'en Party and Passenger to Frankfurt.The only major collection of Christie's novels to date, issued as a set for subscribers and endorsed by Agatha Christie. It includes all the published crime novels up to 1970, and features Agatha Christie’s foreword and facsimile signature in the first volume.
Christie’s works have stood the test of time. In 2013, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was voted the best crime novel ever by 600 fellow writers of the Crime Writers' Association, and she is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling novelist of all time, her novels have sold an estimated two billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind Shakespeare's works and the Bible. They have been translated into over 100 languages, with and Then There Were None selling over 100 million copies (as at 2014), making it the world’s best selling mystery ever.
Reference: Haycraft, Murder for Pleasure 129.
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Price HK$ 50,000