Sergeant Michael Cassidy

Publication: London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1915 Formatting: 8vo, pp. [viii], 177, [3]. Condition Report: Good. The publisher's original green pictorial cloth binding remains generally firm and intact, though it displays moderate shelf-wear, slight bruising to the spine ends, and gentle rubbing to the extremities. There is a slight forward lean to the text block, and the cloth shows minor handling marks and light dust-soiling. The page edges are moderately tanned and spotted, consistent with the paper stock used during this period. Internally, the hinges hold securely. Scattered foxing is present throughout, most notably to the preliminary and final leaves, as well as the margins, however, the text itself remains bright and entirely legible. Overall, a highly presentable and sturdy survivor of an inherently fragile wartime production. Catalogue Note: First edition. The debut work by Herman Cyril McNeile (1888—1937), written under the pseudonym 'Sapper'. As a serving officer in the Royal Engineers during the First World War, McNeile was prohibited by military regulations from publishing under his own name. This collection of stories represents his earliest literary output, significantly predating the creation of his famous Bulldog Drummond character. Bound in the original publisher's green cloth, the front board features a striking black illustration of a soldier framed within a shamrock, accompanied by sergeant's stripes. The true 1915 first printing is increasingly uncommon in its original, un-restored state, as copies were frequently sent to the front lines or read to pieces by families at home. Before capturing the public imagination with the dashing adventurer Bulldog Drummond, H. C. McNeile, writing as 'Sapper,' penned this gritty, poignant, and occasionally humorous collection of stories drawn directly from his experiences on the Western Front. Narrated through the perspective of the irrepressible Sergeant Michael Cassidy, the tales offer an authentic, ground-level view of the camaraderie, the stark reality, and the quiet stoicism of British soldiers facing the onset of the First World War and the bloody lead-up to the First Battle of Ypres.…