UNCLE SILAS - First Penguin paperback edition - Penguin No. 279 - third printing

J. Sheridan Le Fanu [Edited & Introduced by Christine Longford]

Published by Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1947

About this Item

A third printing of the first UK paperback edition published in 1947 - Penguin Catalogue No. 279 - priced at One shilling and sixpence with the 'dancing' Penguin on the front cover - the price is applied on a green matching Penguin label over the original published price of One shilling [uncommon thus]. The first Penguin printing was on 28 August 1940, with a reprint in January 1942. Specially edited and with an Introduction by Christine Longford. ***A very good copy in illustrated green and white card wrappers, with the original Penguin style of horizontal stripes. The covers have some marks and creasing commensurate with age and handling, with some browning and mottling. There is some creasing to the lower part of the front cover. The spine has some splitting at the base, and some scuffing and wear, but no reading creases. There is no lean to the binding which is straight. No fading to the covers. Internally the book is also very good, with no inscriptions and no serious creases or tears. The paper stock is only slightly tanned with age. No foxing. Without the original dustwrapper. ***224 pages. 180mm x 110mm. ***'"Uncle Silas", subtitled "A Tale of Bartram-Haugh", is an 1864 Victorian Gothic mystery-thriller novel by the Irish writer J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Despite Le Fanu resisting its classification as such, the novel has also been hailed as a work of sensation fiction by contemporary reviewers and modern critics alike. It is an early example of the locked-room mystery sub-genre, rather than a novel of the supernatural (despite a few creepily ambiguous touches), but does show a strong interest in the occult and in the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish scientist, philosopher and Christian mystic. Like many of Le Fanu's novels, "Uncle Silas" grew out of an earlier short story, in this case "A Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess" (1839), which he also published as "The Murdered Cousin" in the collection "Ghost Stories and Tales of Mystery" (1851). While this earlier story was set in Ireland, the novel's action takes place in Derbyshire; the author Elizabeth Bowen was the first to identify a distinctly Irish subtext to the novel, however, in spite of its English setting. It was first serialized in the Dublin University Magazine in 1864, under the title Maud Ruthyn and Uncle Silas, and appeared in December of the same year as a three-volume novel from the London publisher Richard Bentley.' [Wiki] ***A third printing, and the first post-war printing, of the first Penguin paperback edition of this 19th Century classic crime novel by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, in nice collectable condition. Impressive that a 74 year old paperback has survived in such nice condition. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc. Seller Inventory # PB343

Bibliographic Details

Title: UNCLE SILAS - First Penguin paperback ...

Publisher: Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex

Publication Date: 1947

Binding: Original Wraps

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket, as Issued

Edition: First Paperback Edition