“GREAT SCOTT!” - EXAMPLES OF THE HISTORICAL

NOVEL

'The Band increased at every moment', Les Miserables

James Murray

Autumn 2015

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“Great Scott!” - Examples of the Historical Novel

Ever-powerful vehicles for the popular development of ideas and cultural orthodoxies,novels are at their most potent when they look, Janus-faced, either to the future or the past.This list features First Editions, Fine Bindings, and an Original Typescript of some of thefinest historical novels of the 19th and 20th centuries. Alongside more obvious choices such asBernard Cornwell and C. S. Forester, you will also find the likes of Blackmore, Brontë, andTwain. There are also a couple of gems by Sir Walter Scott, who started this whole thing offover 200 years ago...

By James Murray

Having spent the last six years sailing to Byzantium via St Andrews and King's CollegeLondon, the New Year saw James boarding the good ship Harrington. His special subjectsinclude the history of Constantinople / İstanbul and the sixth-century historian Prokopiosof Caesarea. Equally comfortable discussing the relative merits of Tolstoy, Hardy, or theBrontës, James is also a big fan of classic fiction, particularly the historical kind.

BLACKMORE, R.D. (1825-1900) Lorna Doone. A Romance of Exmoor. New York: Harper and Brother’s Publishers. 1900. Large post-octavo. pp. 560. Bound in half brown morocco, gilt, marbled boards and endpapers, top edge gilt. Illustrated with drawings by W. Small and photographs by Clifton Johnson. With a special introduction by the author. Edges a little toned else a fine copy. The epic romance between John Ridd and Lorna, played out amidst the Glorious Revolution and Monmouth's rebellion. £65

BRONTE, Charlotte [pseud. BELL, Currer] (1816-1855). Shirley. A Tale.Edinburgh: George Grant. 1924. Octavo. 2 vols. Bound in half green morocco over green cloth, with raised bands and gilt titles and decoration to spine, top edge gilt. With twelve illustrations. Binding is rubbed, showing some spotting to edges though text remains clean, including illustrations. It remains a presentable and attractive copy. Shirley is the sweeping social chronicle of two contrasting heroines; the shy Caroline Helstone, trapped in the oppressive atmosphere of a Yorkshire rectory, symbolizing of the plight of the Victorian single woman, and the vivacious Shirley Keeldar; wealthy heiress whose fortune liberates her from convention. A work that combines social commentary with the more private preoccupations of ‘Jane Eyre’, the follow-up novel ‘Shirley’ demonstrates the full range of Bronte's literary talent.£210

COOPER, James Fenimore (1789-1851). The Last of the Mohicans. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, n.d. (c. 1930). Octavo. Publisher's pictorial blue cloth with gilt titles to spine and in black to upper. Bright and tight. A piece of paper pasted down to top of f.f.e.p. to mask previous owner's name. Illustrated with a frontispiece and 3 additional plates, all in colour. A lovely copy. The second part of the Leatherstocking Tales series, following 'The Deerslayer', 'The Last of the Mohicans' remains Cooper's most recognisable title. In 1992 it was adapted as a major film staring Daniel Day Lewis. £85

CORNWELL, Bernard (1944 - ). Sharpe’s Eagle. Richard Sharpe and the Talavera Campaign, July 1809.London: Collins. 1981. FIRST EDITION of the first Sharpe novel. Octavo. Publisher’s green cloth, in price-clipped dust wrapper. Near fine (slight spine slant). Firstnovel of the hugely entertaining and best-selling series featuring the heroic ‘brilliant but wayward’ loose canon infantryman Richard Sharpe, initially of the 33rd Foot and later the 95th Rifles and Essex Regiments. The career-spanning series charts his progress from Private soldier to Lt.Colonel, and follows him throughout his various campaigns in India, Chile, Portugal, Spain, France and Denmark.£250

CORNWELL, Bernard (1944 - ). Sharpe’s Company. Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Badajoz, January to April 1812.London: Collins. 1982. FIRST EDITION. Octavo. Publisher’s cloth in illustrated dustwrapper. Edges a little dusty and thumbed, minor soiling to extremities of jacket. Not price clipped. Very good copy. The year is 1812, and Richard Sharpe has one mission: to thwart Napoleon's dream of empire. Sharpe andthe fighting men of the Light Company must gain control of two fortress cities in Spain if Wellington's army is to stem the Napoleonic tide.£295

CORNWELL, Bernard (1944 - ). Sharpe’s Gold. Richard Sharpe and the Destruction of Almeida, August 1810. London: Collins. 1981. FIRST EDITION. SIGNED by the author. Octavo. Very goodindeed, in like price-clipped dustwrapper. Also with superb,amusing INSCRIPTION by Cornwell to front endpaper. The inscription reads: 'For Shona and Jasper, who have thefirst critical look at every Sharpe novel, and are, Q.E.D,therefore responsible for most of the faults in the canon,Nevertheless, with complete affection and all thanks,Bernard J Cornwell. P.S. A descendent of Hornblower’sButler'. From the Library of Jasper Partington and ShonaCrawford Poole, who are the also the dedicatees of theSharpe’s Honour novel. The Second Sharpe novel. A rareitem. A year after the victory at Talavera, Wellington’s army,outnumbered and bankrupt, is on the verge of collapse. Itsonly hope lies in a cache of gold hidden in the Portuguesemountains, and the only man capable of stealing it is CaptainRichard Sharpe-even if it means turning against his own side.£975

CORNWELL, Bernard (1944 - ). Sharpe’s Waterloo ORIGINAL TYPESCRIPT. London: Harper Collins. 1990. ORIGINAL TYPESCRIPT with firstedition copy of the published book. All441 pages of the typescript used for copy-setting the first edition, including thesignature of the Editor, Yvonne Holland.Final alterations made to every page inpencil, with some in red ink to prelims.Final page heavily worn and tapedtogether. In original ProductionDepartment Box, presented in a bespokenavy half-leather clamshell box with gilttitles, together with a first edition copy ofthe published book: Octavo. pp. 378. Inpublisher's orange cloth and original dustjacket. Very good condition. £2500

FAULKS, Sebastian (1953 - ). Birdsong. London: Hutchinson. 1993. FIRST EDITION. Royal octavo. pp. viii, 407 [1]. Publisher’s cloth in dustwrapper. No inscriptions or price-clipping. Slight spine lean and handling else a near fine copy. The dramatic, compelling story of a young Englishman's experience in France, set before and during the Great War, Birdsong was voted thirteenth in the BBC's 'Big Read' survey [2003] which aimed to find Britain's favourite book. £495

FORESTER, C.S. (1899-1966). The Good Shepherd. London: Michael Joseph. 1955. FIRST EDITION. Octavo. pp. 288. Publisher's cloth in original dust-wrapper. Some toning and light wear otherwise near fine. An attractive copy of this Second World War adventure concerning an allied convoy at the Battle of the Atlantic. £45

FORESTER, C.S. (1899-1966). The Gun. London: John Lane, The Bodley Head Limited. 1933. FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo. pp. 196 [6]. Publisher's catalogue. Bound in recent half maroon morocco with gilt titles to spine, publisher's original cloth boards with titles in red to upper. Original map end papers bound in at rear. £225

FORESTER, C.S. (1899-1966). Horatio Hornblower. An Omnibus Volume Comprising: The Commodore and Lord Hornblower. London, Michael Joseph. 1952. First Edition thus. Octavo. pp. 431. Publisher’s dark blue cloth with titles in silver to spine; in its pictorial dust jacket. Edges dusty, some local fading. Dustwrapper with a few chips, some

rubbing. No inscriptions or price-clipping. Shows well.£50

GRAVES, Robert (1895-1985). Count Belisarius. New York: Random House. 1938. First US edition. Octavo. pp. viii, 564. Green cloth covers with gilt decoration and titles on a black square to the spine, pictorial dustwrapper. Some bumping to corners, some very slight nicking to the edges of the dustjacket. A fine copy. Graves re-tells the exploits of6th century Roman General Belisarius, luridly immortalised by Procopius of Caesarea in the 'Wars' and 'Secret History'. £250

HAGGARD, H. RIDER (1856-1925). Cleopatra. London, Longmans, Green and Co. 1893. FIRST EDITION. Octavo. pp. 336. With 16-page catalogue inserted at rear and the artist’s credit slip attached to list of illustrations. Publisher’s gilt-titled blue/grey cloth, bevelled edges and patterned endpapers. With illustrations. Cloth a little rubbed and soiled, spine leaning, discreet ownership to pastedown, neat tear to contents leaf. An inexpensive copy which shows well. A popular tale of ancient Egypt. £60

HEMINGWAY, Ernest (1899-1961). A Farewell to Arms. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1929. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE (no disclaimer). Octavo. Elegantlybound in recent full black oasis morocco leather, gilt, raisedbands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, with original clothbound in at rear. Minor toning to edge of text block else fine. Anattractive copy. Ernest Hemingway's celebrated novel about ayoung lieutenant and an English nurse who fall in love during TheGreat War was brought to the screen by David O. Selznick's in1957, starring Rock Hudson and Selznick’s wife Jennifer Jones.Selznick The MGM epic would be his final film production.£295

HUGO, Victor Marie (1802-1885), [SCHAEFFER, Mead, illust.]. Les Miserables. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, n.d. [c.1920]. Small Quarto. Beautifully bound in recent Atkinson's halfmaroon morocco with gilt titles and gilt to spine. Marooncloth boardsm and top edge gilt. The illustrated endpapershave been retained; publisher's original gilt entitledembossed black upper cover bound at the back. Contains 12colour plates, including frontispiece. A near fine copy. Oneof the best known novels of the 19th century, which may beconsidered historical fiction because it contains factual,historic events, including the Paris Uprising of 1832.£275

KENT, Alexander [Pseud. REEMAN, Douglas] (1924 - ). The Flag Captain. London: Hutchinson and Co. 1971. FIRST EDITION. Octavo. Publisher’s dark brown cloth in ahandsome pictorial dustjacket depicting the ‘Battle of theNile’, engraved by Robert Pollard from a painting by Nicholas Pocock. Front and back endpapers are decorated with the map of Spain. An excellent copy, just a hint of a lean and a touch of dust to the top, otherwise fine in fine dustjacket. Classic naval fiction; It is April 1797, Falmouth Bay, and returning home after 18 months' continuous service, Flag Captain Richard Bolitho finds himself at the centre of the Great Mutiny crisis....£125

KENT, Alexander [Pseud. REEMAN, Douglas] (1924 - ). The OnlyVictor. London: Heinemann 1990. First Edition. REVIEW COPY with Heinemann’s slip inserted. Near Fine with slight age toning to page edges, in Fine dustwrapper. February 1806: Bolitho's instructions are to assist in hastening the campaign in Africa, where an expenditionary force is attempting to recapture Cape Town from the Dutch. £95

LANDON, Christopher (1911-1961). Ice Cold in Alex. London: Heinemann. 1957. FIRST EDITION. Octavo. pp. 241. Bound in publisher’s blue cloth with silver titles to spine, in pictorial dust wrapper. Owner inscription to flyleaf, jacket with a a few chips and tears, mostly to crown, price-clipped. A very good copy. Basis for the 1958 movie starring John Mills, which was edited and released in the US as 'Desert Attack' (1961). £38

MACLEAN, Alistair (1922-1987). The Guns of Navarone. London: Collins. 1957. FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp. 318. Bound in publisher's blue cloth, with gilt titles to spine. Pictorial dust wrapper shows three streaks of fire from the eponymous guns against a dark sky, with titles to front cover, titles to spine, and publisher's advertisment for H.M.S. Ulysses, MacLean's bestselling first novel, to rear cover; unprice-clipped, originally priced at 14s. Binding is tight, and shows only minor shelfwear. Dust wrapper likewise, with minimal rubbing to spine ends. Internally clean and free from spotting. One of the author’s most popular titles, and the basis for the epic 1961 action movie starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn. The future 007 series producer Cubby Broccoli believed 'The Guns of Navarone' film adaptation effectively "captured the spirit of the movies he wantedto be making" -James Bond The Legacy (2002), p.24.

£125

O’BRIAN, Patrick (1914-2000). The Nutmeg of Consolation. London: Harper Collins. 1991. FIRST EDITION. Octavo. pp. 315. Bound in publisher's blue cloth withgilt titles to spine. Pictorial dust wrapper shows, presumably, a view ofthe Cornelie from the deck of the eponymous Nutmeg of Consolation,with titles to front cover and spine, rear cover shows Binyon's review of the Aubrey-Maturin series. Crisp and unblemished; a fine copy. Following 'The Thirteen-Gun Salute', this fourteenth book in the series sees Aubrey and his crew escape from the island they have been wrecked on in the Dutch East Indies, and resume their journey to Australia. £175

O’BRIAN, Patrick (1914-2000). Post Captain. London: Collins, 1972. First Edition. Octavo. Fine and clean in Near Fine dust wrapper slightly rubbed to extremities,folding trace to inside upper flap. A bright, sound copy. The second title of the series.£575

O'BRIAN, Patrick (1914-2000). The Fortune of War. London: Collins. 1979. First Edition. Octavo. pp. 280. Blue cloth with gilt titles tospine, in pictorial dustjacket. Slight lean to the textblock,some fading along the top and bottom edges of the cloth,Some bumping to the head and tail caps. Dustwrappershows well with only a slight hint of tanning to the spine,some slight wear along the top and bottom edges. A verygood copy. £195

SCOTT, [Sir] Walter (1771-1832). Ivanhoe. With an Introductory Essay and Notes by Andrew Lang. London: Macmillan. 1922. Illustrated Edition. pp.673. Classic adventure novel in an attractive leather school prize binding by Bickers and Son of London; half red calf, gilt, with cloth sides, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. With gilt crest to upper cover and prize label (mathematics) to pastedown. A touch sunned to spine otherwise a fine copy. £95

SCOTT, [Sir] Walter (1771-1832). Woodstock; or, TheCavalier. A Tale of the Year Sixteen Hundred and Fifty-One.Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co. 1826. First Edition. In three volumes. Octavo. pp. xvi, 315; 332;370. Bound without half-titles. In half tan morocco with gilttitles on red morocco labels to spines. Marbled boards andedges red-spotted. 'First Edition' in blue ink to black pagefacing title. General shelf wear and heads of spinesweakened. One label with edges slightly peeling from vol. 2.Internally clean and crisp. Good overall. A tale of theEnglish Civil War inspired by the legend of the Good Devil ofWoodstock. £65

TWAIN, Mark [pseud. CLEMENS, Samuel Langhorne] (1835-1910). The Prince and the Pauper. A tale for young people of all ages.Boston: James R Osgood and co. 1882. FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE, with Franklin Press imprintto copyright page. Octavo. Bound in recent full green morocco, gilt ruling to boards, raised bands and gilt titles to spine; all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Illustrated with192 in text illustrations. Publisher’s original decorative upper board, showing regalia and titles in gilt against black embossed fleur-de-lys and heraldic shield designs, as well as spine with gilt titles, bound in at rear. Binding ishandsome, and shows no signs of wear. Internally clean and free from spotting. A thoroughly attractive copy. The hilarious adventures of Tom Canty, a ragged street urchin who bears a striking resemblance to Edward VI, son of Henry VIII. Longing to experience the excitement of the outside world, the young prince persuades Tom to exchangeplaces in society. The book was dedicated to his two daughters, Susie and Clara Clemens.£475

WAUGH, Evelyn (1903-1966). Sword of Honour. A Final Version of the Novels Men at Arms (1952), Officers and Gentlemen (1955), and Unconditional Surrender (1961). London: Chapman and Hall. 1965. First Edition thus. 8vo.; pp.796. Elegantly bound in half mid-blue calf, gilt titles to spine, blue cloth boards, top edge tinted blue. Publisher's original blue cloth spine bound in at rear. Internally clean; a fine copy in an attractive recent leather binding. The streamlined version of the acclaimed trilogy, edited by the author to be read as one story.£250

20-22 Chapel Place ● Royal Tunbridge Wells ● Kent TN1 1YQ UK●Tel +44 (0) 1892 547 531 ● email: rare@harringtonbooks.co.uk

Company No. 3428373 ● VAT No. GB 702 0559 73website: www.harringtonbooks.co.uk