The Seamy Side - Signed by author

xi+292p. Frontis of "The Death of the Duchess of Praslin". Index. Wiki: "William Roughead (pronounced Ruff-head) (1870–1952) was a well-known Scottish lawyer and amateur criminologist, as well as an editor and essayist on "matters criminous". He was an important early practitioner of the modern "true crime" literary genre." "According to Joyce Carol Oates: "Roughead's influence was enormous, and since his time "true crime" has become a crowded, flourishing field, though few writers of distinction have been drawn to it…. Roughead, much admired by Henry James, wrote in a style that combined intelligence, witty skepticism, and a flair for old-fashioned storytelling and moralising; his accounts of murder cases and trials have the advantage of being concise and pointed, like folk tales. Perhaps Roughead's greatest achievement was his analysis of Oscar Slater's trial for the murder of the Glasgow spinster Marion Gilchrist in 1908. Roughead assisted Arthur Conan Doyle, Craigie Aitchison and William Park for nearly 20 years exposing weaknesses in the Crown's case and indeed he was cited as a witness in the 1928 appeal." The book is very clean and tight and appears little used; no foxing. There is a signed inscription from the author "For my friend James C Browning with cordial regards from Will Roughead January 1938" on the half title.The boards are clean and unmarked but there is a slight slant and the spine is significantly sunned. Sere scans.…