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MALICE AFORETHOUGHT.
by ILES, FRANCIS
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Greencastle, Pennsylvania, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
[London]: Mundanus, Ltd./ Victor Gollancz Publisher, 1931., 1931. First edition. First edition. Pseudonym of Anthony Berkeley Cox, who also wrote as Anthony Berkeley. Original published yellow wrappers. Very good copy housed in a cloth clamshell case with titles stamped in gold gilt on a leather label affixed to the spine. With this book, considered to be his masterpiece, it is clear from the first page that Dr. Edmund Bickleigh intends to murder his wife. He is a long-suffering husband whose snobbish wife, Julia, has tormented him for years, while he has indulged in fantasies about and even flirtations with other women. Bickleigh is smitten by one, the beautiful heiress Madeleine Cranmere, and begins an affair with her. Though Bickleigh has hopes of obtaining a divorce from his shrewish wife, Madeleine says she could never marry a divorced man. In Bickleigh's twisted mind, that leaves him with only one possible course of action, if he still wants Madeleine: He must murder his wife to avoid a divorce. This book created a sensation when it revolutionized the mystery genre by revealing the identity of the killer from the start, then generating suspense by making readers wonder if he could get away with his clever crime.
Synopsis
Malice Aforethought is a murder mystery novel written by Anthony Berkeley Cox, using the pen name Francis Iles. It involves a Devon physician who slowly poisons his domineering wife so that he may be with the woman he loves. It is an early and prominent example of the "inverted detective story", invented by R. Austin Freeman some years earlier. The murderer's identity is revealed in the first line of the novel, which gives the reader insight into the workings of his mind as his plans progress.
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Details
- Bookseller
- BUCKINGHAM BOOKS
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 38911
- Title
- MALICE AFORETHOUGHT.
- Author
- ILES, FRANCIS
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Mundanus, Ltd./ Victor Gollancz Publisher, 1931.
- Place of Publication
- [London]
- Date Published
- 1931
Terms of Sale
BUCKINGHAM BOOKS
We accept checks and all major credit cards. Prices are NET to all. PA residents must add 6% sales tax. It is our preference to ship via either UPS or Priority Mail. All oversized books and all shipments outside the U.S. will be charged actual shipping, insurance, and handling costs. All parcels shall be shipped insured. All items may be returned within 7 days of receipt with prior notification. We request any items for return be sent by their original shipping route, be well packaged and fully insured.
About the Seller
BUCKINGHAM BOOKS
Biblio member since 2006
Greencastle, Pennsylvania
About BUCKINGHAM BOOKS
Buckingham Books specializes in new, used and rare books dealing with Mystery and Western Americana. Books in the mystery field include not only Mystery, but also Detective, Espionage, and Adventure Fiction. Our Western Americana Section offers books about the development of the American West. All books in our inventory are First Editions unless clearly stated otherwise.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Wrappers
- The paper covering on the outside of a paperback. Also see the entry for pictorial wraps, color illustrated coverings for...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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