The Worm Ouroboros; A Romance

New York: Albert and Charles Boni, 1926. First Edition. `. Octavo. The author's first book of fiction. Frontispiece, 445 pages. Illustrated by Keith Henderson. Eddison began writing novels of fantasy while engaged in a career for the civil service. Some have speculated that this work influenced Tolkien. Lewis also thought highly of this book. An occasional member of the Inklings who like his friend Tolkien was devoted to Old Norse which begins to be seen in his Norse saga. Styrbiorn the Strong followed by A Fish dinner in Memison which appeared in 1941. He died in 1945 before finishing The Mezentian Gate which was partially issued as a first edition (truncated) in 1958. A classic fantasy novel set on Mercury. Bound in black cloth centrally stamped in gilt depicting a peguses, spine lettering gilt, endpapers are decorated with a bird like snake with accent colors in gold, black, blue and white, light wear to corners and spine ends, some staining to boards, and a small area on top edge with an area with a bit of decolorization.[Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 599. Cawthorn and Moorcock, Fantasy: The 100 Best Books 32]. (Inventory #: 028012)