THE GREAT SHADOW and BEYOND THE CITY

1893. Hardy, Paul. With Illustrations by James Greig and Paul Hardy. Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith, n.d. [1893]. Original orange cloth decorated in black and blue.

First Edition, early if not first state -- in book form of "Beyond the City," and First Combined Edition. "The Great Shadow" had appeared as Arrowsmith's 1892 Christmas Annual (right after which it alone appeared in book form), and "Beyond the City" had appeared only as Good Words's 1891 Christmas Annual. Beyond the City, unlike other Conan Doyle works, is set in suburbia and is concerned with women's rights. The history of three families intricately connected by fate, the story focuses (truncated) on the character of Mrs.Westmacott, the feminist heroine who drinks stout and smokes cigarettes. The lives of 19th century women are beautifully portrayed in this novel [BookFusion]. As G&G points out, it is impossible to distinguish precisely between the many (eight) early issues of this book -- but this copy does have the earlier publisher's imprint on the title page (ending in "Kent & Co. Limited" rather than the later "Kent & Company Ltd."), and it has the early-state title verso (blank, rather than bearing a "3'6 Series" imprint). This is a close-to-fine copy, with no wear and with scarcely any soil (a little foxing on the endpapers and on the page edges); it is not an easy title to find in condition this desirable. Green & Gibson A13a. (Inventory #: 15719)