Category: LivrePuzzle

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Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott – what date was this published?

Occasionally, it can be hard to find information about a particular vintage edition of a book. Especially, if the author is popular and there have been many reprints.

In this instance, we were attracted to the very 1940’s cover of this edition of Jo’s Boys, but dating and pricing it has proved to be difficult. It seems to have been produced by Scottish publisher Oliphants Ltd as a Unicorn Classic. Oliphants was bought out by Marshall, Morgan & Scott Ltd in 1945 and liquidated voluntarily and without debts on 27 March 1968.

Oliphants Ltd published mainly religious books, and I have found copies of Little Men and Good Wives online by them, but again, no date. It would be safe to assume the other books in the series came out around the same time, and our best estimation is 1940-60.

We’d love to hear from you if you can cast any further light on the publication date.

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Circle of Shadows by Deben Holt – who is the author?

Book collecting can be a very intriguing business. You learn a lot about the lives of authors,and stories particular to certain titles. If you delve deeply enough, the books provide their own forensic clues to the lifes and mindset of their writers. They also speak to the time and culture in which they were penned. Books can be jigsaws within brilliantly patterned mosaics.

One such puzzle that has perplexed me for some time is piecing together the hidden identity of the authors of Circle of Shadows. This book was published in 1957 under the pseudonym of Deben Holt. That, apparently, is the pen name for two friends who decided to write together but keep their identities a secret, even from friends and family.

The plot goes like this: Private eye, Ricky Britton, is involved in his first tough case, which takes him to the Riviera and sees him framed for murder. The cover below shows a body on the beach under moonlight.

Circle of Shadows was published by “The Thriller Book Club”, which was an imprint that originated from the Foyle’s bookshop and Foyle’s book club. If you click on the image below you can enlarge it to read the text. You can read more about the Foyle’s book club on the Collecting Christie website.

Livre Eclectica’s copy is in good condition, but doesn’t have a dust jacket. There are only a few copies available for sale online, and we’re pleased to have one of them. If only we could unravel the mystery of who wrote it.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any clues you’d like to share…