Search Results: Historical Fiction from Grimalkin Books

Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1909. This First Edition, published in January, 1909, is in Good+ condition. It is an historical novel set in Washington in 1844 and deals with the type of events that would fourteen years later erupt into the Civil War. In addition to writing, the author, Emerson Hough, was a well-known conservationist, responsible for inspiring Congress to protect the dwindling buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. He was also a friend to President Theodore Roosevelt, to whom he dedicated this novel. The book is bound in a burgundy cloth with a blind-stamped maze pattern on the the front panel with titles set off against a cream-colored border. This border is flaking off. The spine border has flaked off completely, although the blindstamped title letters remain. There is also shelf rubbing at the spine tips as well as bumped, frayed corners. The binding seems secure, and the text pages are clean and bright. There are four handsomely painted illustrations by Arthur Keller,… Read More

New York: Random House, 1937. First published in 1824 and subsequently compared to Burton's Arabian Nights, this classic is reprinted in a new edition with exquisite color illustrations, as well as line drawings, by Cyrus LeRoy Baldridge, who traveled throughout Persia (modern day Iran) to retrace the journeys of Hajji himself. The book includes a Foreword by Christopher Morley. This First Edition Thus has the 1937 date on the copyright page, as well as on the Title Page in Roman Numerals. Random House did not state First Edition on its earlier books until 30 years later, but only made note of subsequent printings. The book is in Fine, unread condition, with a close to Fine, price-clipped dust jacket. (Click on photo.) The book is bound in illustrated covers with artwork by Baldridge that match the artwork on the dust jacket. The book has a dark top-edge stain. The binding is tight and secure. The pages are clean and bright, with only a hint of toning. There are no names from former owners,… Read More

Newton Abbot, U.K.: David & Charles, 1981. Like d'Artagnan, a penniless Dumas went to Paris as a young man to seek his fortune, with dazzling results. Michael Ross makes Dumas' life every bit as fascinating as one of his historical novels. The book is in As New condition with an As New dust jacket. I've placed the dust jacket into an archival Brodart protective sleeve. The book is bound in brown paper-covered boards with die-stamped gilt spine titles. I'm not familiar with this particular British publisher, and this book may possibly be a First Edition since no later printing history is mentioned. The book measures 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches and includes 293 pages.. Hard Cover. As New/As New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Athens, Georgia: Hill Street Press, 2000. This Stated First Printing (and unless it's stated, it's not) also includes a complete "number line" ending with a "1". The book is in New, unread condition, with a new, unclipped dust jacket. I've placed the dust jacket into an archival Brodart protective sleeve. The book is bound in paper-covered boards with a deep red-violet cloth spine and die-stamped gilt spine titles. Although Margaret Mitchell's will stipulated that all her personal papers were to have been destoryed after her death, this amazing cache of early writing girlhood writings managed to escape the furnace and were only recently discovered. These include short stories, fairy tales, journal entries, essays, and a one-act play. This volume of these lost works is a true collectible for any Margaret Mitchell admirer. The book measures 5 3/4 by 8 3/4 inches and includes 216 pages. . First Edition. Hard Cover. As New/As New. 8vo - over 7¾" -… Read More

New York: Macaulay Company, 1922. Originally published in 1906, this Glyn novel was reprinted in 1922 to promote the silent film starring Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson, photographs of whom are used as illustrations. There is also a frontis photo of Valentino and Elinor Glyn. A young, penniless aristocrat, Theodora (Gloria Swanson), marries a self-made millionaire grocer to help her family recover economically. But sure enough, she meets a playboy aristocrat (Rudolph Valentino) and falls for him. Which will win? Honor and duty? Or love? The book is in Very Good+ condition, with red covers and black titles on the front panel and spine. The spine has slight fading and there is only light edge wear. The binding is tight and secure, and the text pages are clean and bright. The book measures 5 1/4 by 7 1/2 inches and includes 327 pages, with ads in the rear. . Hard Cover. Very Good+/No Dust Jacket. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1947. This First Printing (as indicated by a "1" in parentheses on the final text page) is in close to Fine condition with a Very Good+ price-unclipped dust jacket. This historical romance novel is set in the time of George III and deals with three full-blooded women whose romantic trials are tied to the desparate times and places in which they live. The book is bound in a beige cloth with light blue titles on the front panel and spine. The binding is tight and secure, and the text pages are clean and bright throughout, with no tears or stains. The dust jacket has some small tears and chips. The original owner made a cellophane repair on the spine crown and bottom. I've placed the dust jacket into an archival Brodart protective sleeve. The book measures 5 3/4 by 8 3/16 inches and includes 380 pages.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Very Good+. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

New York: A.L. Burt, 1917. Possibly a First Edition, with no other printing history, this World War I boy's adventure is in Very Good condition. Bound in a light brown cloth, the illustrated front panel and spine show a battle scene. The covers show some spine-tip rubbing and fraying, and bumped corners. The interior is securely bound, with an illustrated frontis and illustrated title page. There is some occasional margin staining, particularly on some of the earlier pages, probably from food. The book measures 5 1/4 by 7 5/8 inches and includes 249 pages, with ads in the rear. There is a sticker from a former owner on the front endpaper.. Hard Cover. Very Good/No Jacket. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.

New York: Warner Books, 1997. This Stated First Printing (and if it isn't stated, it's not) is in New, unread condition, with a New, unclipped dust jacket. No remainder marks. This epic novel of love, discrimination, natural disaster, and political upheaval, set in the U.S. and China in the first part of the 20th Century does for China what M.M. Kaye's "The Far Pavilions" did for India. The book is bound in beige boards, with a green spine and die-stamped gilt lettering. The book measures 6 1/4 by 9 1/4 inches and includes 575 pages.. First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall.

New York: The Macmillan Company, 1904. A young coroner finds love in the midst of a post-Civil War hillbilly vendetta. This is a rare First Edition, printed September 1904, of a book that usually nowadays can only be purchased from cheap Print-On-Demand companies. The book is bound in a blue-green cloth, with a decorative front panel and spine, showing an Art Nouveau leaf motif and two rifles. The titles on front panel and spine are in die-stamped gilt. The covers have some light soiling and fraying at the spine tops and corners. The book is securely bound and the text pages are clean and bright. The book measures 5 1/2 by 7 3/4 inches and includes 271 pages.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good+/No Dust Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1949. This epic drama deals with two generations of a family of Hungarian aristocrats, including a heroine not unlike Scarlett O'Hara. It was translated from the Hungarian by John Pauker. The book is in Fine condition. The unclipped dust jacket is in Near-Fine condition, with light edge rubbing and slight spine fading. (Click on photo.) The book is bound in gray paper-covered boards, with red spine lettering and a small vignette illustration on the front panel depicting the Dukays' coat of arms. The book measures 5 7/8 by 8 1/4 inches and includes 404 pages. . First American Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

New York: Macmillan, 1950. Richard Llewellyn achieved instant fame with his first novel of Welsh coalminers, "How Green Was My Valley." "A Few Flowers for Shiner" is his third novel, and is a stated First Printing. Set in wartime Italy, it concerns a Cockney truck driver who attempts a pilgrimage to put flowers on the grave of his mate and gets waylaid by various harrowing adventures. Included is an excellent unclipped dust jacket. The book is in very clean, fine condition, except that the endpapers are heavily browned. (Too much acidity in the end-paper stock used?) The book has light gray covers and blue titles on the front panel and spine. There are no signatures or inscriptions, and the pages are bright and sparkling throughout. The book measures 5 3/4 by 8 1/4 inches and includes 372 pages. The unclipped dust jacket is in fine condition but with one small tear. See photo. . Stated First Printing. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾"… Read More

Los Angeles, CA: Dove Audio, 1998. In World War II, two brothers, one raised in Germany and one in the U.S., find themselves on opposite sides. These eight unabridged audio cassettes of Jack Higgins's "Flight of Eagles" is brilliantly read by Patrick Macnee (of "The Avengers" fame). The cassettes were only played once and are in excellent condition, although the cardboard box has light wear. See photo.. Audio Cassettes Boxed. Fine. Audio.

Montreal: The Montreal News Co., Ltd., 1897. This is the first authorised and revised edition of a novel, previously published 20 years earlier in the United States in a pirated form due to lax copyright laws of that period, as explained in the author's own prefatory note. This revised edition was also legally published in the United States by L.C. Page & Company. This historical novel, set in old Quebec, offers the reader the type of romance, adventure, and political intrigue popularized by Alexandre Dumas. The book includes eight black-and-white full-page illustrations, including a frontis. The book is bound in a deep blue-green cloth with a gilt and red vignette illustration on the front panel as well as reddish-orange titles on the front panel and spine. There is shelf rubbing at the spine tips and corners. As for the interior, the book is tightly and securely bound, with no signatures of former owners. The pages are clean and bright throughout. The book measures 5 1/4 by 7 5/8 inches… Read More

New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Prior to the Jack Aubrey-Stephen Maturin series, this was Patrick O'Brian's first historical sea adventure featuring Commodore Anson's fateful circumnavigation of the globe in 1740 and Peter Palafox, son of a poor Irish parson who signs on as a midshipman. The book is in close to Fine condition, having only been read once and very gently. It is a First Printing Thus oversized paperback from Norton. The binding is tight and secure and the pages are clean and bright throughout. The book measures 5 5/8 by 8 1/4 inches and includes 285 pages.. First Edition Thus. Oversized Soft Cover. Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Grand Haven, Michigan: Brilliance Audio, 2003. This historical adventure novel, set in Cuba of the 1950s, is in New condition in the original manufacturer's shrink wrap. The four audio cassettes have a running time of approximately 6 hours. The novel deals with the CIA's attempt to have Fidel Castro assassinated by the ex-marine gunfighter, Earl Swagger, prominent in such earlier Stephen Hunter novels, "Hot Springs" and "Pale Horse Coming." . Audio Cassettes Boxed. New/New. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956. This handsome Stated First Edition (and, unless it's stated, it's not) is in Fine condition, with its original price-unclipped dust jacket. I've placed the dust jacket into an archival Brodart protective sleeve. The novel deals with intrigues and adventures in the decent Imperial Court of Kyoto, Japan, during the Middle Ages. It was translated from the original Japanese by Fuki Wooyenaka Uramatsu. The book is bound in an oatmeal colored cloth with the vignette drawing of a Japanese noblewoman combing her hair. The spine is bound in a 3/4 alizarin cloth with blindstamped Japanese characters on the front panel and die-stamped spine titles. The binding is tight, and the pages are clean and bright, with no marks, stains, or tears. There are illustrations throughout by Kenkichi Sugimoto. The dust jacket has a closed tear, plus some rubs and small chips. The dust jacket features a wraparound color painting by Fumi Komatsu. The book measures 5 by 8 5/8 inches… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956. This Stated First Edition (and, unless it's stated, it's not) is in Fine condition, with a Very Good+ price-unclipped dust jacket. I've placed the dust jacket into an archival Brodart protective sleeve. The story deals with a 12th century Japanese hero, Kiyomori, who rises from poverty and obscurity to become the Emperor's Chief Councillor at a time of political intrigue and great corruption in the imperial city of Kyoto. This is also a story of two warrior clans and ancient enemies to one another, the Heiké and the Genji. The book is bound in woven beige cloth and 3/4 salmon spine cloth, with die-stamped gilt spine titles, along with blind-stamsped Japanese characters, plus the vignette portrait in black on the front panel of a court lady plaiting her hair. There is top-edge black stain. The book includes maps, pronunciation guides, and family trees to help the reader appreciate this epic novel. The book also includes striking pen-and-ink… Read More

New York: Plume, 1982. The Hills Beyond was Thomas Wolfe's last great novel, published posthumously. (Wolfe died at age 37 due to pneumonia.) The novel traces the life of a vital Southern family over three centuries. This oversized paperback book is a Stated First Printing from Plume with the appropriate "number line" starting with a "1". There is light edge rubbing and a corner crease. The binding is tight and secure with no break or crease in the spine. The text pages have some age toning. The book measures 5 3/8 by 8 1/8 inches and include 304 pages.. First Edition Thus. Oversized Soft Cover. Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009. This Stated First Edition (and, unless it's stated, it's not) also includes a "number line" ending with a "1" to indicated First Printing. This New, unread novel of Nazi Germany deals with an idealistic young naval officer, his fiancée back home, and the moral decisions that engulf them both as the war effect crumbles on both the sea and on land. The book is bound in cream boards with a black spine and metallic red titles. The book measures 6 1/4 by 9 1/4 inches and includes 374 pages. . First Edition. Hard Cover. New/New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

New York: Doubleday, 2003. This Stated First Edition (and unless it's stated, it's not) has the required number line starting with a "1" to indicate First Printing. The book is in As New unread condition with an As New unclipped dust jacket. From the author of "Sally Hemings" comes another well-researched historical novel about Sarah Baartman, a South African woman who was brought to London in the early 19th Century and turned into a freak-show exhibition by her exploitive keeper. The book is bound in black boards with a black cloth spine and die-stamped gilt spine lettering. I've placed the dust jacket into a Brodart protective sleeve. The book measures 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches and incudes 317 pages.. First Edition. Hard Cover. As New/As New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.