"AN UNEQUIVOCAL KEYSTONE"

DUNSANY, Lord (PLUNKETT, Edward John Moreton Drax, 18th Baron of Dunsany). The Little Tales of Smethers. London: Jarrolds, (1952). Octavo, original black cloth, original dust jacket. $950.

First edition of one of Lord Dunsany's later books, a collection of crime short stories, with a laid-in autograph letter signed by him.

Dunsany is "unquestionably one of the most important writers of heroic fantasy of the century" (Bleiler). "In 1905 Dunsany published The Gods of Pegana, the first of his many books of dreamlike stories. Unsuccessful in his bid to become MP for Wiltshire in the parliamentary election of 1906, and encouraged by W.B. Yeats, AE, and others, he took up literature rather than politics. The general public liked the gentleman author better than the critics did… [Dunsany] possessed a vivid imagination and an entrancing if mannered style, and… he enjoyed a loyal and enchanted public" (ODNB). Later he turned to detective and crime fiction, producing (among other works) this collection, called by Ellery Queen "an unequivocal keystone." "The book is a treasure trove—no less than 26 tales of crime and detection, all illumined by Lord Dunsany's charm and wit, and his individualistic style. The first nine stories record the exploits of Mr. Linley, including (for the first time in one of the author's own books) that undeniable modern classic, The Two Bottles of Relish" (Queen, Queen's Quorum 109). In Currey's binding A. Currey, 138. Laid into this copy is an autograph letter signed by Dunsany on his Dunsany Castle stationery. It reads in full: "Ap. 27 1946. Dear W. Neville. Steiger used the filed bones to adulterate salt, a very proper occupation for a murderer. I believe this is what is usually used for the purpose, though my local doctor tells me that, judging form the fact that what they use is insoluble in water, it may be something to do with magnesium. I admit that my murderer must have eaten a very great deal of salt, or else used more bone-dust to adulterate it than what is generally used. Yours truly, Dunsany." In addition, there is an original drawing on the front free endpaper signed by illustrator Val Biro, who designed the dust jacket cover, which he has also signed on the front flap.

Book with mild toning to endpapers, dust jacket with only very minor edge-wear. A near-fine copy.