The Maui and the Pear Tree (signed) by James, P. D. and Critchley, T.A

Mysterious Press, 1987. mass market paperback. good. 234pp. "With the fascination of a true-life detective story set firmly in its historical context, this account of the Ratcliffe Highway murders describes a series of crimes that were to nineteenth-century London what the Jack the Ripper killings are to us today: the very symbol of murderous and unthinking brutality. [...] As the reader watches the rudimentary police system of Regency London coping with a major murder investigation, the Ratcliffe Highway Murders prove to be among the most interesting and mysterious in the English criminal calendar." #00585.

Mysterious Press, (1987). 5th prtg.. Paperback. Light wear. VG+..

Warner Books, 2002 [1971]. Softcover, trade paperback. Fine. Queen of the English mystery novel teams up with an historian to recreate the Radcliffe Highway Murders from 1811. 272 pages. James, born in 1920, was the pen name of Phyllis Dorothy James White. She is best known for her detective stories starring Inspector Adam Dalgliesh.

The Mysterious Press, 1985. 1st Ptg. . Hardcover. Very Good/Near Very Good. Ex-library copy, spine slightly askew, no card but stamped all over including title page. Near Very Good, DJ and book.

New York: Mysterious Press. Good/Good Dj. 1986. First Thus. Hardcover. 8vo 089296152X Clean, crisp. No stamps or names present. .

Nee York City: The Mysterious Press, 1986. First U.S. Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. 8vo., 234pp. Sharp First Printing of the First US Edition. Square, tight and clean throughout with little or no wear. Very attractive unclipped wrapper, ($17.95), has some very mild surface rubbing but fresh and bright with no creases, chipping or tears. A beautiful collectable copy at a great price.

New York: The Mysterious Press, 1986. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition. Near fine in near fine dustwrapper.

N.Y.: Mysterious Press 1986, 1986. 1st American edition, March 1986, so stated with complete number line beginning with 1. Fine in dust jacket, not price clipped, in an acid-free archival acetate cover. The Ratcliffe Highway Murders, 1811, that shocked Regency London. "In 1811, London's East End was the scene of a series of murders so brutal and irrational that they caused panic throughout the city, which lacked a central police force. This engrossing account, marking the American nonfiction debut of British mystery novelist James, details the seven vicious ("brains battered out and throats butchered"), apparently motiveless slayings (which occurred first in a linen shop, then, days later, in a nearby pub); the confused efforts of local "police" groups; and the cases' suspiciously abrupt closing after suspect John Williams, a seaman and lodger at the Pear Tree public house, committed suicide in jail, thereby sealing his "guilt" and prompting a bizarre… Read More

N.Y.: Mysterious Press, 1986. 1st American edition, March 1986, so stated with complete number line beginning with 1. Fine in dust jacket, not price clipped, in an acid-free archival acetate cover. The Ratcliffe Highway Murders, 1811, that shocked Regency London. "In 1811, London's East End was the scene of a series of murders so brutal and irrational that they caused panic throughout the city, which lacked a central police force. This engrossing account, marking the American nonfiction debut of British mystery novelist James, details the seven vicious ("brains battered out and throats butchered"), apparently motiveless slayings (which occurred first in a linen shop, then, days later, in a nearby pub); the confused efforts of local "police" groups; and the cases' suspiciously abrupt closing after suspect John Williams, a seaman and lodger at the Pear Tree public house, committed suicide in jail, thereby sealing his "guilt" and prompting a bizarre parade… Read More

London, Constable and Company, 1971. Octavo, x+234 pages, original boards in lightly edgeworn dustwrapper, faded spine, a very good copy. First edition