Elster's Folly

Philadelphia, PA: T. B. Peterson & Brothers. Very Good. 1866. 1st American Edition; 1st Printing. Hardcover. (Text in 2 columns. 275, [13, ads] pp. 1 vols. 8vo. ) This book is in Very Good condition and was issued without a dust jacket. The book and its contents are in generally clean, bright condition. The spine ends have some light bumping and rubbing and there is some beginning fraying as well. The covers are pebbled brown publishers cloth with gilt lettering and publisher's design to the spine. The text pages are generally clean, though with some generalized toning. The first free page is completely toned, as is the rear free page. There are several previous owner's names (front endpaper, front free page, and title page). "Initially, Wood seems to have written merely for the pleasure of seeing her stories in print, but around 1856 Henry Wood suffered some business failure. The exact circumstances are vague, but the couple and their children returned from France to live in rented rooms in Upper Norwood. The Woods were now short of money, and the little remuneration Wood received for her monthly stories was no longer sufficient. Wood is said to have asked Ainsworth to allow her to write a novel for one of his journals, but he did not want to disturb the status quo. Eventually, Wood forced Ainsworth’s hand. A friend showed her an advertisement offering £100 for a novel which best exemplified the principles of temperance. Although much of the 28-day limit had already expired, Wood planned and wrote her book in time to meet the deadline. Her novel, Danesbury House, won the prize and her name became known. This book, first published in 1860, was in print for the remainder of the nineteenth-century, but with the prize money went the book’s copyright - she never received another penny from its huge sales." (the Mrs. Henry Wood website) .