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THE LAST OF THE GIANT KILLERS OR THE EXPLOITS OF SIR JACK OF DANBY DALE by Rev. J. C. Atkinson, D.C.L. ...
London and New York: Macmillan and Co., 1891. Octavo, pp. [1-2] [i-v] vi-viii [ix-x] [1] 2-244 + 44-page publisher's catalogue dated "September, 1891" on page 1, original green cloth, front panel stamped in gold and blind, spine panel stamped in gold, rear panel stamped in blind. First edition. A collection of local folktales and legends written for young readers by John Christopher Atkinson (1814–1900), a rural Yorkshire priest and antiquary. Includes an interesting preface, pp. [v]-viii, on the historical background for the tales. "Atkinson was an ideal antiquary, endowed with a love of nature as well as a taste for study. His parish was in the rudest part of Yorkshire, and on his arrival he found that clerical duties had been almost neglected. He set himself to learn the history of his parish cure and to gain the friendship of his parishioners, and in both objects he succeeded. By constant intercourse with the people he acquired a unique knowledge of local legends and customs. ... By far his best known work ... was the charming collection of local legends and traditions which he published in 1891, with the title 'Forty Years in a Moorland Parish.' This work ... has been compared to Gilbert White's 'Natural History of Selborne,' and perhaps still more closely resembles Hugh Miller's 'Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland.' Besides these more serious compilations Atkinson was the author of several delightful books for children" (DNB).
THE CITY OF GOLD AND LEAD.
New York: The Macmillan Company, [1967]. Octavo, pictorial cloth. First U.S. edition. Set in a dystopian future where aliens have conquered the Earth. They travel in in three legged vehicles reminiscent of the Martian war machines in H.G. Well's WAR OF THE WORLDS. The aliens control humans by inserting communication devices in their heads. The second book of a trilogy preceded by THE WHITE MOUNTAINS (1967) and followed by THE POOL OF FIRE (1968). And later a fourth book, a prequel, WHEN THE TRIPODS CAME (1988) was published. Basis for a BBC series "The Tripods." Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-244.
THE CITY OF GOLD AND LEAD.
New York: The Macmillan Company, [1968]. Octavo, pictorial cloth. First U.S. edition. Set in a dystopian future where aliens have conquered the Earth. They travel in in three legged vehicles reminiscent of the Martian war machines in H.G. Well's WAR OF THE WORLDS. The aliens control humans by inserting communication devices in their heads. The final book of a trilogy preceded by THE WHITE MOUNTAINS (1967) and THE CITY OF GOLD AND LEAD (1967). And later a fourth book, a prequel, WHEN THE TRIPODS CAME (1988) was published. Basis for a BBC series "The Tripods." Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-244.
SWEENEY'S ISLAND.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964. Octavo, cloth backed boards. First edition.
THE TWENTY-SECOND CENTURY.
[London]: Grayson & Grayson Ltd., [1954]. Octavo, boards. First edition. Signed by Christopher on the title page. The author's first SF book. A collection of twenty stories. "At this stage in his career Christopher's narrative craft was nearly mature." "He told stories with pace, suspense, sanity and clarity." - Pederson (ed.): The St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers (4th ed.), pp. 185-87. Many of these stories preview the themes of his later novels.
THE WHITE MOUNTAINS.
New York: The Macmillan Company, [1967]. Octavo, pictorial cloth. First U.S. edition. Set in a dystopian future where aliens have conquered the Earth. They travel in in three legged vehicles reminiscent of the Martian war machines in H.G. Well's WAR OF THE WORLDS. The aliens control humans by inserting communication devices in their heads. The first book of a trilogy followed by THE CITY OF GOLD AND LEAD (1967) and THE POOL OF FIRE (1968). And later a fourth book, a prequel, WHEN THE TRIPODS CAME (1988) was published. Basis for a BBC series "The Tripods." Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-244.
THE WORLD IN WINTER.
London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1962. Octavo, boards. First edition. Catastrophe novel in which a new ice age descends on England. Anatomy of Wonder (1987) 3-93.
THE YEAR OF THE COMET.
London: Michael Joseph, [1955]. Octavo, boards. First edition. The author's first science fiction novel. The world is split not into states but into business groups.
WHEN THE TRIPODS CAME.
New York: E.P. Dutton, [1988]. Octavo, cloth backed boards. First U. S. edition. Precedes the British edition. Prequel to the tripod trilogy, the fourth novel featuring the tripods. "...this prequel serves chiefly to describe the establishment of the core of resistance that appears at the opening of THE WHITE MOUNTAINS.... it has the same swift action and sense of menace that has made the original books popular." - Kirkus Reviews, April 1988. See Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-244.