The Valley of Fear
- New York: George H. Doran, 1914
New York: George H. Doran, 1914. First edition. Near Fine/Very Good. First printing, of the fourth and final novel in the Sherlock Holmes series (there were also a number of short story collections). It preceded the UK edition by three months. Original red cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt. With dust jacket. Frontispiece and 6 plates by Arthur I. Keller. A bright Near Fine copy, with the spine just a bit cocked and an early gift inscription (in pencil) on the front free end paper. Very Good dust jacket unrestored. A few short tears at the top of the front panel, small chips from the spine ends (larger at the heel), rubbing to the folds, but a handsome example overall. Original price of $1.25 in red has faded on the spine, but is still legible.
"A cipher message and a horrible murder in a Sussex village begin this dark and powerful tale as Sherlock Holmes battles with the forces of the criminal mastermind, Professor Moriarty. Central to the novel lies the story of a terrorist brotherhood and the hold it acquired over an American mining valley" (Oxford University Press). The final Sherlock Holmes novel, and critically noted as the darkest and most intense, The Valley of Fear shows Arthur Conan Doyle reaching the pinnacle of his talents as he introduces new characters, shows both evolution and dissolution in his longstanding characters, and tangles together the past and the present.
Green & Gibson A39.c. Near Fine in Very Good dust jacket.
"A cipher message and a horrible murder in a Sussex village begin this dark and powerful tale as Sherlock Holmes battles with the forces of the criminal mastermind, Professor Moriarty. Central to the novel lies the story of a terrorist brotherhood and the hold it acquired over an American mining valley" (Oxford University Press). The final Sherlock Holmes novel, and critically noted as the darkest and most intense, The Valley of Fear shows Arthur Conan Doyle reaching the pinnacle of his talents as he introduces new characters, shows both evolution and dissolution in his longstanding characters, and tangles together the past and the present.
Green & Gibson A39.c. Near Fine in Very Good dust jacket.