Antiquities & Oddities

//Antiquities & Oddities
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  • In this volume: Bobbit's Chair, E.E. Cowper; Daphne's Sunset Tiles, Brenda Girvin; Captain Betsy, Dorita Farlie Bruce; The Family Tradition, Shirley Grey; Someday, S.M. Hills; Madge's Burglar, Marjory Royce; Judy And The Treasure, Agnes Frome; Miss Connington, Alice Massie; The Relief Of Fox Lake, C Bernard Rutley. Colour plates and line drawing illustrations.
  • Adrienne was the beautiful beloved bride of Vincent, Lord Satan, eager to begin her new life as mistress of Castle Caudill. From the moment she enters Castle Caudill, Adrienne is drawn into a world of demonic terror. Does she participate in satanic rituals and black masses or are they only horrifying dreams? Is her husband a devil with great powers at his command? And why does the ghost of Lord Satan's mother mournfully roam the halls of the castle? Desperately Adrienne sought the fearful truth, through shadows that concealed nightmarish terrors, in a world that cloaked dark unseen forces she was powerless to control...Cover art by Enrich Torres-Prat. Roberts, daughter of an Ohio missionary, was a hardworking librarian by day, devil-romancer...most likely also by day. Somewhat maligned by later romance historians for her undeniably violent sex scenes, Roberts was something of a pioneer in her context and milieu  in bringing a hefty amount of explicitly disreputable sexuality to the gothic genre of the 1970s. The Louisa Bronte heroine would follow her libido to hell and beyond and the consequences  be damned!
  • Fun fantasy and time stories: I Love Galesburg in the Springtime: A town does not want to forget its past and begins producing random - and physical - 'memories'. Love, Your Magic Spell Is  Everywhere: What happens when two work colleagues find a novelty shop - with a difference. Where the Cluetts Are: A couple find their perfect house in an old blueprint - and the house seems to have found the perfect owners. Hey, Look At Me!  A shy young author dies, but still wants to leave his mark on the world...The Coin Collector: A man picks up an odd coin in his change - which allows him to visit a parallel universe and live two different lives. The Love Letter: When a young man buys an old desk and finds a young lady's letter to an unknown lover, he answers it - and gets a reply. Also in this volume: A Possible Candidate For The Presidency; The Prison Legend; Time Has No Boundaries and The Intrepid Aeronaut. A book for the serious collector - very hard to get.
  • A rare first edition of West's second book, with the ingredients for first class entertainment: a disillusioned hero who seeks escape in treasure hunting, a sunken galleon, a lonely tropical island, a thoroughly modern villain and a very beautiful girl. The background is authentic, research by West when he travelled the length of the Great Barrier Reef in the tracks of the early navigators.
  • A Gothic coming-of-age story that takes place in Sussex County and follows a young boy with an interest in mischief, exploration, and boxing. Rodney Stone and his best friend, Jim Harrison have always been drawn to dark and dangerous places. When they wander into Cliffe Royale, an old, deserted mansion that was the scene of a gruesome murder fifteen years earlier, they’re both frightened and strangely excited to cross paths with a ghostly figure. Before they can identify who the ghost is and what it wants, Rodney’s wealthy uncle, Sir Charles Tregellis, arrives in Brighton and takes Rodney away. Rodney soon learns that Tregellis, a typical dandy, is connected to just about everyone in London and has focused his attention on an upcoming boxing match to be witnessed by thirty thousand spectators. If Tregellis’s unnamed challenger wins the fight, it could mean grave trouble for Tregellis and everyone he’s associated with - including Rodney. Distracted by the upcoming fight, Rodney almost forgets about the chilling discovery he made at Cliffe Royale with Jim - until the past comes back to haunt them all. A story with twists, turns and the famous and infamous from history - an unforgettable portrait of what life was like for both the common man and the social elite in the early 19th Century.
  • From the author of Goodbye Mr. Chips and Random Harvest.  As World War I comes to a close, George Boswell looks back on how his fate was inextricably tied to that of his sleepy English hometown As a young man, George Boswell knew he had greater prospects ahead than those offered by his native mill town in the north of England. A respected lawyer and civic leader, he possessed the skill and charisma to shine on the national stage. But ambition is not without a cost. When Boswell must choose between the promise of a bright future or staying behind for the people who have come to depend on him, his decision comes at a shocking price. story of a people pulled reluctantly toward modernity amid the farms and factories of Lancashire, and a celebration of the steadfast character of the common English village.
  • Having exorcised the late Mr Stebbings, the awful wallpaper, the hideous leadlight window, the holly hedge and other acts of vandalism committed by the previous owners - Nichols sets about restoring the Georgian manor Merry Hall the gardens to their former glory while braving the wrath of village locals who regard the inappropriate building additions as a monument to the late Mr Stebbings' 'good taste.'  As always, Beverley is accompanied by his beloved pet cats who, of course, have their say on all improvements. Illustrated by William McLaren.
  • A wonderful, charming book on the flowers and gardens of Japan - not just any tourist book, but one which also discloses the spirituality behind Japanese garden plans and why they are planned as they are. It was published in 1908 and has fifty beautiful colour illustrations. (See gallery photos for artwork examples)  From Chapter II: Stones, Garden Ornaments and Fences. Stones and rocks are such important features in all Japanese gardens that when choosing the material for the making of a landscape garden, however large or however small, the selection of the stones would appear to be the primary consideration. Their size must be in perfect proportion with the house and grounds which they are to transform into a natural landscape, and they will give the scale for all the other materials used - the lanterns, bridges, and water-basins, and even the trees and fences. Their number may vary from five important stones to as many as 138, each with its especial sense and function. I think the correct position and placing of the stones is the part of the art which it would be most difficult for a foreigner to accomplish: the mere names and special functions of the stones would require years of careful study. To the eye of a Japanese one stone wrongly placed would upset all the balance and repose of the picture. Large rocks and boulders seem to be essential for the success of a large garden, and are used to suggest mountains, hills, and the rocks of the natural scene; any very fantastic and artificial looking rocks are avoided, for fear they should give an appearance of unreality to the landscape. The fancy of giving sex to certain stones, and in temple grounds of assigning holy attributes and even of giving them the names of Buddhist deities, dates from very early days, and this custom of applying a religious meaning to the most important rocks survives to this day. Mr. Conder tells us that "formerly it was said that the principal boulders of a garden should represent the Ku, or Nine Spirits of the Buddhist pantheon, five being of standing and four of recumbent..."
  • Punch, or The London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and wood-engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 1850s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration. From 1850, John Tenniel was the chief cartoon artist at the magazine for over 50 years. Punch became a staple for British drawing rooms because of its sophisticated humour and absence of offensive material, especially when viewed against the satirical press of the time.  Yet a quick glance through this volume reveals some very sly wit indeed.