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Oliver, John Rathbone. Priest or Pagan. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1933. First edition. Octavo, pp. [1-2] [i-viii] ix-xii [xiii-xiv] [1-2] 3-461 [462: "a note on the type ."] [463-464: blank]. Original black decorative cloth, front and spine panels stamped in red and silver, publisher's trademark stamped in blind on rear panel, top edge stained red, other edges rough-trimmed, decorative endpapers (with the Borzoi Books logo). A fine copy in a good dust jacket with tanning to covers and edge-wear around spine ends which, however, does not obliterate any typography. #727. $100. An expertly crafted novel, ultimately concerned with the conflict between magic and religion, generously detailed with three-dimensional characterizations and vivid descriptive writing. It has gained a good reputation among critics but does not show up on the radar of most readers of the genre. "Religious and metaphysical novel; the psychology of a Judas figure; the quest for evil and the conflict of physical and spiritual paternity . A long, fully developed novel, with much creative detail and some good characterizations . for the detail, the adumbrations of rottenness, worth reading." -- Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1260. "The protagonist, disadvantaged by birth and breeding, becomes ripe for conversion to the cause of evil and is helped on that road by the aptly named Hell Fire, with whose aid he eventually embarks on catastrophic occult experiments. An over elaborate but intriguing allegory." -- Barron (ed), Horror Literature 3-154. Seller Inventory # 727
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