The Triumphs Of Eugene Valmont

ROBERT BARR

Publication: D Appleton and Company, 1906, New York

First U. S. edition. 12mo. Original two-tone pictorial cloth, vii [blank], 330 pp. plus 6 pp. of advertising, frontispiece. This copy has the required (1) on the last page of text. A Haycraft/Queen cornerstone and a Queen's Quorum title

Queen's Quorum 35 says "The first Golden Era started hitting on all cylinders with the publication of a deceptive book which seemed to be just another volume of detective shorts but which actually proved to be an outstanding achievement. The real purpose behind this book has long been misunderstood. Some critics think of Eugene Valmont simply as a comic criminologist; other critics consider him a forerunner of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. The truth is deeper: what Robert Barr intended was a satirization of the nationalistic differences between French and English police systems and, as such, the book is a trenchant, if generally unrecognized tour de force. The humor, warmth, and ingenuity, especially in the classic story, The Absent-Minded Coterie, are extra dividends."

Former owner's neat name stamp at top of front pastedown sheet else a near fine bright and tight copy. An exceptional copy.