THE TERROR OF TORLANDS. A Detective Story. The Author's Archive.

First edition, first printing. Original khaki cloth with black titles to the upper board and spine, in dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding square with a little bumping at the spine tips, the cloth with some rubbing and darkening to the extremities. A very good copy, the binding square with some bumping to the spine tips, the cloth with some rubbing and darkening to the extremities. The contents, with some toning to the endpapers and a few finger marks to the margins are otherwise clean. Complete with the near fine original dustwrapper that has a couple of tiny nicks and a very thin strip of fading to the bottom edge. Also included is an original carbon typescript of the novel, 327 pages, bound in brown card with typed label to the upper wrapper; a letter from the publisher Stanley Paul, dated 2nd June 1930 requesting a blurb for the book; a typescript of the requested blurb; the string bound galley proof for the book publication; proof copy, with a few holograph emendations for the British serial publication (the title crossed out and renamed 'The Dartmoor Mystery'; the Australian serial publication in The Sun News-Pictorial (daily issues between June 4th to July 15th), housed in an envelope bearing the author's name and address. Unique thus.

A fascinating collection of material, originating from the author's archive, relating to his first crime novel. Thomas Curtis Hicks Jacobs, a man of many identities, (his surname later legally changed to Pendower) was a prolific writer of crime fiction, westerns and romance. He was a founding member of the Crime Writers Association and served as chairman in 1960-61. (Hubin).