Klein Augusta Patten Wilson (2 results)

Hardback. Condition: Fine. No Jacket. First Edition. Klein, Augusta. Anatolé: A Romance of the Sea. London: J. M. Dent & Co.; New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1904. First edition. Octavo, pp. [i-iv] v-vii [viii] ix [x] xi [xii] [1] 2-148. Original light green decorative cloth, front and spine panels stamped in dark green and gold, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. Illustrated by Patten Wilson with 11 full-page wood engravings in the text and a full-color painting on an inserted plate at frontis. Inoffensive rubber-stamped ownership mark on front paste-down. A fine copy of a very handsome book typical of good Edwardian book design (showing influences of the Arts & Crafts aesthetic). #1724. $45. A fantastic novella structured as a fairy tale, though aimed clearly at an adult readership. A pseudo-medieval society of a kind increasingly typical in 20th-century fantasy provides the setting for this tale of two young royal lovers from neighboring seaside kingdoms, separated by ill chance befalling the princess and re-united by the bravery of the prince who rescues here. The story is not without some clever touches but is long on description and short on action and any kind of visceral conflict. The languid style is somewhat reminiscent of a sanitized fin-de-siécle aestheticism or Celtic Twilight. The art-work is superior to the writing (and could be re-purposed today by an enterprising editor to accompany a better story). Still, the novel should appeal to those with a strong interest in the mermaid motif. Not recorded in any standard fantasy bibliographies. Patten Wilson (illustrator).…

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Hardback. No Dust Jacket. 8vo. pp xi, [1], 148. Original publisher's illustrated green cloth showing sun rays, lettered gilt on spine and on front cover. The publisher's own retained copy with their stamp on the front endpaper, reading 'file'. 12 illustrations by Patten Wilson. Found online: '.fantastic novella structured as a fairy tale, though aimed clearly at an adult readership. A pseudo-medieval society of a kind increasingly typical in 20th-century fantasy provides the setting for this tale of two young royal lovers from neighboring seaside kingdoms, separated by ill chance befalling the princess and re-united by the bravery of the prince who rescues here. The story is not without some clever touches but is long on description and short on action and any kind of visceral conflict. The languid style is somewhat reminiscent of a sanitized fin-de-sicle aestheticism or Celtic Twilight. The art-work is superior to the writing (and could be re-purposed today by an enterprising editor to accompany a better story). Still, the novel should appeal to those with a strong interest in the mermaid motif.' Very good indeed.…