333 pages. Royal octavo (9 1/2" x 6 1/2") bound in original publisher's quarter aqua cloth with gilt lettering to spine over light aqua boards in original pictorial jacket. First edition.

"When Scotland Yard superintendent Richard Jury is drawn into a brief affair with a troubled widow named Jane Holdsworth, her subsequent death makes him a suspect in her murder. Unable to leave London, Jury sends Melrose Plant, eighth Earl of Caverness to the Lake District to pry open the Holdsworth family's locked box of secrets. Plant does what he is bidden, in his own particular style, and what he uncovers is a shocking sheaf of surprises about the death-prone Holdsworth clan and its growing number of orphans.

Condition: Spine ends pushed else very good to fine in a near fine jacket.

Synopsis

The rainy day on which they meet sets the tone for Jury’s romance with a mysteriously troubled widow named Jane Holdsworth. The passionate affair comes to a crashing halt when Jane is found dead. As an investigation ensues—with Jury a suspect—he realizes how little he knew about Jane, her teenage son, and her contentious family. Unable to leave London, Jury sends Melrose Plant to pose as a librarian at the Holdsworths’ Lake District home, where the secrets that rise to the surface threaten to pull the clan under.... SELECTED BY THE LITERARY GUILD® AND THE MYSTERY GUILD®

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Details

Bookseller: The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: L1437
Title: The Old Contemptibles
Author: Martha Grimes (1931- )
Book Condition: Used - Very Good to fine
Jacket Condition: Near Fine
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: First
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0316328944
ISBN 13: 9780316328944
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Place of Publication: Boston and Toronto
Date Published: 1991
Pages: 333 pages.
Size: Royal octavo
Keywords: Mystery, Espionage. Detective and Thriller
Bookseller catalogs: Literature;

Terms of Sale

The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA

All items are guaranteed as described. If an item is not as described, it is returnable within seven days of receipt, unless other arrangements are made. Full refunds given only when items are received in the same condition in which they were sent. We require new customers to send payment with their order. Customers known to us will be invoiced with payment due in thirty days, unless prior arrangements are made. Institutions will be billed to meet their requirements. All items subject to prior sale. We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express Please be advised that we can only ship to your billing address. We accept checks, but may require that the check clears before we ship an order. Prices of books do not include shipping. We use UPS domestically and internationally. Other shipping arrangements can be made. Shipping is always charged at cost. Texas residents must add 8.25% sales tax.

About the Seller

The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA

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Biblio member since 2005

Fort Worth, Texas

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About The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA

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Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Cloth: "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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...
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....
Octavo: Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
Jacket: Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
Fine: A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
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...