The Spoilt Kill
by Kelly, Mary; Broom-Lynne, James (jacket design)
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Michael Joseph, 1961. First edition of Mary Kelly's acclaimed novel, winner of the 1961 Gold Dagger Award, issued by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom for an outstanding work of crime fiction. When a body is found in a vat of liquid clay at Shentall's, an English pottery of sterling reputation, the detective investigating the leak of the firm's proprietary designs finds himself at the center of a much more serious case. The Spoilt Kill was among the first British crime novels to mark a shift toward the psychological, establishing Kelly as a master of the genre: "It wasn't the whine or cringe of self-pity, just a dull resentful disgust for circumstances and his inability to get clear of them, disgust for himself, that was too weak to possess the dignity of utter humility; a wriggle rather than a writhe." The novel also offers an unusually detailed inside look at the business side of the decorative arts, from production processes to industrial espionage. A near-fine example of this tightly crafted murder mystery, uncommon in the first edition. Single volume, measuring 7.5 x 5 inches: [6], 231, [1]. Original blue cloth lettered in gilt; original unclipped color pictorial dust jacket. Light toning to spine panel; smudging and short closed tear to rear panel; neat ownership signature to front free endpaper.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Honey & Wax Booksellers (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1003459
- Title
- The Spoilt Kill
- Author
- Kelly, Mary; Broom-Lynne, James (jacket design)
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Michael Joseph
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1961
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- fiction, literature, women
Terms of Sale
Honey & Wax Booksellers
All Honey & Wax books are guaranteed as described, and returnable for any reason within ten days.
About the Seller
Honey & Wax Booksellers
Biblio member since 2015
Brooklyn, New York
About Honey & Wax Booksellers
Honey & Wax offers a mix of classics and surprises: rare first printings, original artwork, unexpected survivals, books with no downloadable equivalent. Founders of the Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize. Our bookroom is open by appointment in Brooklyn, NY.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 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...
- 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...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...