British Fiction from

The Wind in the Willows is a 1908 children's novel by Scottish novelist Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932). Alternately slow-moving and fast-paced, it focuses on four animals: Mole, Rat (a European water vole), Toad, and Badger, in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie, and celebrated for its evocation of… Read more about this item

This is the first impression (1977) of the Folio Society's The Small House at Allington , the fifth novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series by the great English writer Anthony Trollope (1815-1882). It is about the lives of members of one family. It is illustrated with woodcuts by the British artist Peter Reddick. As with all Folio Society books, it… Read more about this item

This is the second impression (1977) of the Folio Society's 1976 printing of The Warden, the first novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series by the great English writer Anthony Trollope (1815-1882). It is about the disruptive politics surrounding the management of the Hiram's Hospital almshouses. It is illustrated with woodcuts by the British artist Peter Reddick. As with all Folio… Read more about this item

This is the first impression (1978) of the Folio Society's Framley Parsonage, the fourth novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series by the great English writer Anthony Trollope (1815-1882). It is about the politics and romances surrounding the leading clergy of the cathedral city of Barchester. It is illustrated with woodcuts by the British artist Peter Reddick. As with all Folio… Read more about this item

This is the first impression (1977) of the Folio Society's Barchester Towers, the second novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series by the great English writer Anthony Trollope (1815-1882). It is about the politics and romances surrounding the leading clergy of the cathedral city of Barchester. It is illustrated with woodcuts by the British artist Peter Reddick. As with all… Read more about this item

This is an unread First US Edition of I Saw Esau: The Schoolchild's Pocket Book, written by the English folklore experts Iona and Peter Opie. It was originally published in 1947. In 1992, it was re-published, this time full of color illustrations by the great American illustrator Maurice Sendak, best known for Where the Wild Things Are, and his many… Read more about this item

The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby is a children's novel by Charles Kingsley. Written in 1862–63 as a serial for Macmillan's Magazine, it was first published in its entirety in 1863. It was meant as part satire in support of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species but became a mainstay of British children's literature. This is a copy… Read more about this item

This is a first edition of Grosset & Dunlap's printing of The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, the 2nd book of the the classic children's series written and illustrated by the English writer Hugh Lofting (1886-1947). It is about a physician who communicates with animals. This copy was illustrated by the American illustrator Sonja Lamut. There is no evidence that anyone read this… Read more about this item

This is a first edition, 14th printing, of Mutiny on the Bounty, the famous tale of the takeover, from Captain Bligh, of the Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty by the mutineer Fletcher Christian. This is a novel, a fictionalized account of the story, which occurred in 1789. The novel was originally published in 1932 and was a runaway best-seller. This copy… Read more about this item

This is a lovely copy of the Poems of Love by John Donne. Donne (1571-1631) was an English scholar, soldier, cleric and politician. He is also considered the preeminent representative of metaphysical/sensual poetry. The Folio Society first published this book in 1958. It was reprinted via photo lithography in 1990, and again in 1992. This is a copy of the 1992… Read more about this item

This is Emma, Jane Austen's 4th novel and the last published in her lifetime. This copy is a first edition from the 1991 Everyman series published by Borzoi/Knopf, which re-printed the original series from the early half of the 20th century. It is hunter green cloth with gold lettering on the cover and spine. Bound-in green silk bookmark. It includes a… Read more about this item

This is the collected novels of the great British author E.M. Forster (1879-1970). All of them were made into films. They are Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room With a View (1908), Howard's End (1910) and A Passage to India (1924). This book was a school award and has been inscribed on the front endpaper--you can… Read more about this item

This is a stated first edition, and first US printing, of Last Essays, by Joseph Conrad. It was published in 1926 and includes 'Legends', the essay he was working on when he died (of a heart attack). It also includes a photo of the hand-written text of 'Legends'; these are the last words he wrote. As you can see, this book… Read more about this item

This is a stated thirteenth printing of the first edition of Dr. Dolittle's Garden, the 8th book of the the classic children's series written and illustrated by the English writer Hugh Lofting (1886-1947). It is about a physician who communicates with animals. This copy was printed in the US. While there is some shelfwear to the dust jacket, there is no evidence… Read more about this item

This is a program from a 1976 production of No Sex Please, We're British at the Strand Theatre, London. This is a famous play that the critics panned, but audiences loved--it ran from 1971 to 1987 - 6,761 performances. This production starred Doris Hare, McDonald Hobley and Arthur Howard. Mint condition.

This is 7 of the 12-book set of The Works of Charles Lamb, published in 1903 by Dent London and then co-published by Dutton New York. This collection was a best-seller and was printed four times. Four of these books are first editions from 1903; three are 1914 reprints. The set was printed in the UK and is of the… Read more about this item

This is a pristine copy of Just So Stories for Little Children, Rudyard Kipling's classic collection of children's stories, all involving animals, first published in 1902. Kipling illustrated the stories himself. This is the Folio Society's edition, which features all of his original illustrations. The Folio Society first published this book in 1991; this is its 10th printing, dated 2005. As you… Read more about this item

This is a first Readers Union edition (1953) of The West Pier, the brilliant novel by the English writer Patrick Hamilton (1904-1962), which was first published in the same year by Constable. It is the first of the three-novel Gorse Trilogy, which is based on the activities and personality of the con-man and murderer Neville Heath, who was executed for… Read more about this item

This is a first American edition (1963) of The Collector, the brilliant (and creepy) novel about a lonely man who kidnaps a young woman and keeps her in his house, along with his butterflies. It was the first novel by the British writer John Fowles (1926-2005). This copy has no dust jacket. It is the plainest of books; 238 unadorned pages. There is… Read more about this item

This is a 1966 printing of Emily Bronte's classic Wuthering Heights, which was published in 1847 and is considered by many to be the greatest novel ever written. This copy was published by Collins (UK) in 1966. It is 360 tissue-thin pages with no adornment other than a portrait of Emily Bronte at the front. It is bound in grained burgundy leather,… Read more about this item