MORLAND, Nigel. Fish Are So Trusting
MORLAND, Nigel. Fish Are So Trusting. London: Century Press. 1948. Thin 8vo. First edition. Publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt to spine, in the monochromatic dust jacket. Printed on war economy paper, though not stated--both paper and jacket are very fragile. But a nice copy of this scarce work, the boards a trifle marked, the corners gently bumped and rubbed. The binding remains tight and square, and the contents are fine throughout. The dust jacket price-clipped, with several small closed tears, some minor nicks and bumps to most corners, the joints rubbed, but a handsome copy.
A rather curious novel, the crime writer's first "straight" novel set in London about the shady goings-on of orphan-into-spiv, Tansy Laker and his adoring girlfriend, Fay Rogan. Tansy is "a fair example of an adroit, unethical, superficially charming rascal who makes a living under his own flag of piracy" -- he's a pimp and later delver into dodgy stock broking. But the narrative and dialogue is sharp, with epiphanous, self-aggrandising (hence the title), and self-moralising segments which are quite unlike anything I recall. The ending is a grisly one, hence the author's almost apologetic preface specifically about his not quite wholly gruesome protagonist. Scarce.
MORLAND, Nigel. Fish Are So Trusting. London: Century Press. 1948. Thin 8vo. First edition. Publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt to spine, in the monochromatic dust jacket. Printed on war economy paper, though not stated--both paper and jacket are very fragile. But a nice copy of this scarce work, the boards a trifle marked, the corners gently bumped and rubbed. The binding remains tight and square, and the contents are fine throughout. The dust jacket price-clipped, with several small closed tears, some minor nicks and bumps to most corners, the joints rubbed, but a handsome copy.
A rather curious novel, the crime writer's first "straight" novel set in London about the shady goings-on of orphan-into-spiv, Tansy Laker and his adoring girlfriend, Fay Rogan. Tansy is "a fair example of an adroit, unethical, superficially charming rascal who makes a living under his own flag of piracy" -- he's a pimp and later delver into dodgy stock broking. But the narrative and dialogue is sharp, with epiphanous, self-aggrandising (hence the title), and self-moralising segments which are quite unlike anything I recall. The ending is a grisly one, hence the author's almost apologetic preface specifically about his not quite wholly gruesome protagonist. Scarce.
MORLAND, Nigel. Fish Are So Trusting. London: Century Press. 1948. Thin 8vo. First edition. Publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt to spine, in the monochromatic dust jacket. Printed on war economy paper, though not stated--both paper and jacket are very fragile. But a nice copy of this scarce work, the boards a trifle marked, the corners gently bumped and rubbed. The binding remains tight and square, and the contents are fine throughout. The dust jacket price-clipped, with several small closed tears, some minor nicks and bumps to most corners, the joints rubbed, but a handsome copy.
A rather curious novel, the crime writer's first "straight" novel set in London about the shady goings-on of orphan-into-spiv, Tansy Laker and his adoring girlfriend, Fay Rogan. Tansy is "a fair example of an adroit, unethical, superficially charming rascal who makes a living under his own flag of piracy" -- he's a pimp and later delver into dodgy stock broking. But the narrative and dialogue is sharp, with epiphanous, self-aggrandising (hence the title), and self-moralising segments which are quite unlike anything I recall. The ending is a grisly one, hence the author's almost apologetic preface specifically about his not quite wholly gruesome protagonist. Scarce.