A Collection of Novels. Most Inscribed to Her Childhood Nurse
$7,500 · Offered by Biblio
First edition · Signed
Hardcover. A collection of 21 novels by Dell, nearly all Inscribed to her childhood nurse. The books were published between 1915 and 1938. A few are reprints, but most are English or American first editions, and most are inscribed in the year of publication. The copies lack dust jackets and are generally in very good to fine condition. Ethel Mary Dell (1881-1939) was a popular romance novelist in the early part of the 20th Century. Born in 1881 into a middle-class English family, she led a quiet, ordinary life, being very shy and retiring in nature. Although introverted, she had a lively imagination and began writing stories, and getting them published in popular magazines at a young age. Her first novel, *The Way of an Eagle*, was published in 1911 and was an immediate success. She continued writing popular romance novels until her death in 1939. Many of her works, including several represented here, were turned into silent films in the 1910s and 1920s. Dell's extraordinary popularity can be difficult for today's readers to appreciate but her influence is reflected in the writings of several authors with whom they would be more familiar. For example, the monologues of James Joyce's character Gerty MacDowell in *Ulysses* are written in the style of Dell's novels. P.G. Wodehouse created a character in his famous Jeeves and Wooster series based on Dell: “Rosie M. Banks,” and in a separate short story he also had a similar character named “Leila M. Pinkney.” Both characters are
- Edition: First Edition
- Printing: later
- Binding: hardcover
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