THE MARK OF THE BAT.
London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, [1928]. Octavo, pp. [1-8] 9-302 [303: blank] [304: publisher ads], original purple cloth, front stamped in blind, spine stamped in blue in and blind, rear stamped in blind, bottom edge rough trimmed. First edition. Uncommon vampire novel. "The novel plays with Victorian and Edwardian vampire tropes in an interesting, unusual fashion, taking its cues from Bram Stoker’s DRACULA. Shortly after befriending Elma Barry, Lillian Gresham dies of a mysterious ailment that appears to be a form of pernicious anemia. Now a widower, Owen Gresham begins to court Elman, who is charmed by Owen’s good looks and animal magnetism. Elma’s closest friend, Paul Larabee, a doctor by training, has an instinctual distrust of Owen, however, which he cannot shake. As readers, we know from the beginning of the novel that Owen is a physic vampire who had killed Lillian by draining her life force and her blood, although this draining is not achieved by physical blood-sucking. Instead, Owen transforms himself into a fine mist that covers his victims as he’s draining their lives. When Elma falls victim to horrible nightmares and identical symptoms to Lillian, Owen and his friend, Oswald Dease, a scholar of Transylvanian folklore and a clear stand-in for Stoker’s Van Helsing, confront Owen about his true nature. Lillian eventually returns as full-fledged fang-bearing, bloodsucking vampire who remains in love with Owen even though he has killed her. Because she wants Owen to herself, Lillian prevents Owen from successfully attacking Elma, and in the end, she drains Owen’s blood because she’s a more powerful form of vampire than he is. This is well written, and it clips along at a lively pace. Almost all of the action, including the major deaths in the novel, happen off stage. The final chapter is a letter Owen has written to Elma in which he explains “the mark of the bat,” a family curse he has researched his entire life in order to become a “scientific vampire.” - Boyd White. [Reference: Bleiler (1978), p. 65. Reginald 04592. St. Clair, The Vampire in Literature, p. 63. Not in Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy (I-III)]. End papers darkened, foxing to early leaves with mild foxing throughout, corners a bit soft, spine sunned, mild wear to spine ends, a very good copy. A rare book. WorldCat locates four holdings, University of Alberta, The British Library, National Library of Scotland, University of Oxford. (31114). Item #31114
Price: $3,750.00