EVEN IN THE BEST FAMILIES: A Jubilee reprint.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn thus.[Originally published in 1951.One of 12 titles of Crime Club's Jubilee reprints especially selected and introduced by Julian Symons.Chosen from titles which appeared under the imprint during the years 1930 - 1955,and which were out of print at time of selection.] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip (£4.75,which then has an ink cross through it) to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,gilt colour background with b/w Crime Club logo to top of front panel and b/w lettering,rear panel with the other 11 titles from this series advertised to rear panel; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top edges with inevitable but very light dust-soiling and toning and minimal sporadic foxing/spotting, fore-edges bright and clean with similar but less foxing/spotting; contents crisp,bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original green +black mottled faux leather (rexine?) boards with bright,crisp,stamped gilt Crime Club logo to front within a single-line edge border and bright, crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,10-223pp [paginated] includes 22 chapters,plus [unpaginated] story's precis to half-title,title page and an introduction by Julian Symons. Nero Wolfe had had several sharp but long-distance encounters in the past with a certain powerful mystery man of crime named Arnold Zeck, who had even had the temerity to congratulate Wolfe on his work.That Zeck was a blackmailer was obvious.That he was perhaps the most potent and utterly ruthless of all underworld characters seemed more possible.At any rate,Wolfe had once told Archie that if he ever had to come to grips with Zeck he would disappear first,so as not to endanger Archie,his orchids,or his old brownstone in lower Manhattan.Wolfe was a man of his word.Where he went,what happened in his absence,how he came back,and the manner of his coming (less 119 lbs.,more than a third of his total weight) are as fine a combination of outright drama and downright hilarity as was ever put together in novel form. First published in 1951,this is the third and best of what might be termed the Zeck trilogy: a book in which the improbable is made to seem plausible by brilliant sleight of hand and which shows Nero Wolfe himself at his astonishing,outrageous best.American mystery writer.A successful businessman of many years duration,Rex Stout created the popular detecting team of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin in 'Fer-de-Lance (1934) and was launched onto an even more prestigious career.Nero Wolfe is of the Sherlock Holmes tradition of eccentrics,a sedentary fat man rather than a peripatetic lean one,devoted to fine food raather than to his pipe,and with a fetish for orchids rather than opium.Archie is a street-wise young fellow who acts as Wolfe's leg man.Their relationship was never spelt out.Archie lived with Wolfe,and why not?,free gourmet board and a free room in an all-male household.Although Archie was always eyeing the girls,he scarcely had an opportunity to be with one, being at Wolfe's beck and call night and day,and having to account for his time when out of the house.Beside being one of the most prolific of 20thC writers,Stout was an active worker for writer's rights throughout his life. Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,for correct shipping/ P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **