Folio Society Books

Paul A. Whyles - Second-Hand Books

Folio Society Sorted By Author's Surname - Section A

Addison, Joseph; Steele, Sir Richard and Budgell, Eustace - Sir Roger de Coverly. Folio Society, 1967, 1st thus. In the vivid and varied pages of the Spectator, Addison and Steele set out 'to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality'. One of their most brilliant joint creations was the character of the inimitable Sir Roger, 'a gentleman that is very singular in his behaviour... so whimsical in a corrupt age as to act according to nature and reason', and this collection includes all the essays in which Sir Roger makes more than the most fleeting appearance. (Folio Society). 9" x 5ž", 158pp, brown buckram with marbled paper sides, gold spine lettering, hardback. Illustrated with a frontispiece and headpieces by Shirley Smith in monochrome. Spine slightly sunned; fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with near fine, sound, original, slip-case.
[Order code:16387 / Price £5.00]

Aksakov, Serghei - A Russian Gentleman. 1976, Folio Society, 1st thus. Translated and introduced by J. D. Duff. An intense admirer of Gogol and much influenced by him, Aksakov was a great literary artist with astonishing powers of observation and memory, and his colourful, detailed account of life in a Russian family in the reign of the Empress Catherine is a work of considerable importance. To quote J. D. Duff, the whole book 'is dominated by the tremendous personality of Aksakov's grandfather . . . Plain and rough in his appearance and habits, but proud of his long descent; capable of furious anger and extreme violence . . . but also capable of steadfast and even chivalrous affection; a born leader of men and the very incarnation of truth and honesty. . . more like a Homeric hero than a man of modern times. This portrait of his grandfather is the masterpiece in Aksakov's gallery; and his descriptions of his parents' courtship and marriage are just as vivid. . . (as those) of his early childhood.' As a portrayal of patriarchal life and of a seff-owning society on the Bashkirian steppes, Aksakov's sensitive, simply written narrative is an extraordinary achievement. (Folio Society). 9" x 5ź", 260pp plus 9 plates, full 'Japanese sack-cloth', brown leather spine lable blocked in gold, hardback. Illustrated with two-colour drawings by Jane Johnson. Fine, probably unread, complete with slip-case that has its spine and one end slightly sunned.
[Order code:5937 / Price £8.00]

Aksakov, Serghei - A Russian Gentleman. 1976, Folio Society, 1st thus. Translated and introduced by J. D. Duff. A sensitive portrayal of life in a Russian family during the reign of the Empress Catherine, this book 'is dominated by the tremendous personality of Aksakov's grandfather' - the masterpiece in a colourful portrait gallery. (Folio Society). 9" x 5ź", 260pp plus 9 plates, full 'Japanese sack-cloth', brown leather spine lable blocked in gold, hardback. Illustrated with two-colour drawings by Jane Johnson. Slightly sunned spine (less than usual); fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with very good (slight sunning; one of the fold-over lips of the slip-case paper covering needs a slight touch of glue) slip-case.
[Order code:9659 / Price £8.00]

Allingham, William - The Diaries. Folio Society, 1990, 1st thus. Introduced by John Julius Norwich. 'ALLINGHAM,' said Lord Tennyson, 'would it disgust you if I read "Maud"? Would you expire?' William Allingham's lifelong friendship with the Poet Laureate provides the focus for this marvellous diary. It also provides it with some of its richest anecdotes: when Allingham spilt some port on the tablecloth, Tennyson spread salt on it 'with his usual imperturbality, remarking as he did so, "They say it never comes out!"' No diarist ever had a better ear for a story; added to which the Irish poet, author of 'Up the airy mountain/Down the rushy glen', knew nearly all the great writers and painters of his day. Carlyle, Browning, Rossetti, Burne-Jones, George Eliot, Ruskin and Turgenev spring alive from the page: here is the novelist, Onida, for example, 'in green silk, sinister, clever face, hair down. . . voice like a carving knife.' 'Within a quarter of an hour,' writes John Julius Norwich, 'I knew that I had in my hands one of those books that would be a favourite for life.' From his deft impressions of nature to the marvellously funny exchanges between Tennyson (fretful) and the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (bossy), Allingham's diary is the purest joy. (Folio Society). 10" x 6ź", 352pp plus plates, full green buckram blocked in gold over the front and spine with a pattern, gold blocked spine lettering, hardback. Index. Illustrated with contemporary photographs. Probably unread; fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with slip-case that has a very slight mark to one side near one end.
[Order code:5573 / Price £8.00]

Andersen, Hans - Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales. Folio Society, 1995, 1st thus. 'The Emperor's New Clothes', 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Princess and the Pea', 'The Ugly Duckling'... Andersen's magical tales are part of the very fabric of childhood and in this selection readers will find seventeen of his most famous stories. The original paintings by William Heath Robinson, reproduced in colour and black-and-white, capture all the magic of the text in this beautifull facsimile edition. Hans Andersen's stories have achieved a place in the hearts of children everywhere. Our facsimile of the 1913 edition, with the magical illustrations of W. Heath Robinson, captures all the haunting beauty and mystery of the world's favourite fairy stories, from The Ugly Duckling to The Little Mermaid. (Folio Society). 10" x 7ź", 302pp plus 16 plates, red cloth, gold and cream blocked decoration, hardback. Illustrated with colour plates and monochrome drawings within the text by W. Heath Robinson. Fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) probably unread, complete with very good plus (slight shelf-wear/manufacture? to one end, very slight/faint marks to spine) slip-case.
[Order code:16375 / Price £25.00]

Angelou, Maya - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Folio Society, 2000, 1st thus. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first volume in the autobiography of an extraordinary woman. Maya Angelou beautifully evokes her childhood in Arkansas in the 1930s and 40s, when she learnt the power of the white folks at the other end of town and experienced at close quarters the cruel effects of poverty, racism and ignorance. The product of a broken marriage, she was raped by her mother's lover at the age of eight, stabbed by her father's girlfriend at fifteen, bur survived to become a beacon of hope for both her race and sex. (Folio Society). 10" x 6ź", 254pp, brown cloth printed overall with a design in black (might be very dark-brown), gold blocked spine lettering, hardback. This is one of the very few unillustrated Society editions; the emphasis is on production and layout. Fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with near fine (very, very minimal shelf-wear) slip-case.
[Order code:18084 / Price £12.00]

Ashford, Daisy - The Young Visiters. Illustrated by Diana Brough. Introduction by J. M. Barrie. Folio Society, 1956, 1st thus. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Ashford 8ź" x 5˝", 78pp inc. 8 plates, quarter red cloth, cream paper covered boards printed with an illustration in monochrome, gold spine lettering, hardback. Illustrated with 8 hand-coloured (stencilled) drawings by Diana Brough. Probably unread; very slightly sunned spine; fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with very good minus (light cleaning/dusting marks to one end; sunning round edges, slight edge-wear) sound, original slip-case.
[Order code:18659 / Price £20.00]

Aubrey, John - Brief Lives. Folio Society, 1975, 1st thus. Outspoken and intimate, gossiping and haphazard, Aubrey's often quoted Brief Lives was a pioneer work in the field of English biographical writing. The vivid phrases, the striking anecdotes - often based on first hand knowledge and all recorded without the slightest hint of malice - conjure up the reality of the seventeenth century in a way that no writer before or since has equalled. His passion for details, even for the trivia that make the work more rather than less valuable, was all-absorbing, and yet his recording of them was backed by very real scholarship. At the same time, however, his love of life was so intense, his curiosity so wide-ranging and so insatiable, that no project he put his hand to ever really reached completion. This edition of more than a hundred of the Lives, based on the often chaotic manuscripts, has been specially commissioned by the Society. A further outstanding feature lies in the fact that, for the first time, every life included carries an accompanying contemporary portrait. (Folio Society). 10" x 6", 326pp, full grey 'canvas' with the front and spine blocked in brown and gold with a repeat pattern, brown blocked title panel, gold spine lettering, hardback. Printed on laid paper. Illustrated with contemporary monochrome portraits. Sunned spine (appears 'dulled') and 'dusty'/marked at foot (caused by dusting shelves); otherwise fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with very good (slight sunning round opening) sound, original, slip-case. Still has its sign-up card.
[Order code:2715 / Price £5.00]

Aubrey, John - Brief Lives. Folio Society, 1976, 2nd impression. Outspoken and intimate, gossiping and haphazard, Aubrey's often quoted Brief Lives was a pioneer work in the field of English biographical writing. The vivid phrases, the striking anecdotes - often based on first hand knowledge and all recorded without the slightest hint of malice - conjure up the reality of the seventeenth century in a way that no writer before or since has equalled. His passion for details, even for the trivia that make the work more rather than less valuable, was all-absorbing, and yet his recording of them was backed by very real scholarship. At the same time, however, his love of life was so intense, his curiosity so wide-ranging and so insatiable, that no project he put his hand to ever really reached completion. This edition of more than a hundred of the Lives, based on the often chaotic manuscripts, has been specially commissioned by the Society. A further outstanding feature lies in the fact that, for the first time, every life included carries an accompanying contemporary portrait. (Folio Society). 10" x 6", 326pp, full grey 'canvas' with the front and spine blocked in brown and gold with a repeat pattern, brown blocked title panel, gold spine lettering, hardback. Printed on laid paper. Illustrated with contemporary monochrome portraits. Slightly sunned sjpine (less than usual); fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with near fine slip-case.
[Order code:3529 / Price £10.00]

Aubrey, John - Brief Lives. Folio Society, 1976, second impression. Outspoken and intimate, gossiping and haphazard, Aubrey's often quoted Brief Lives was a pioneer work in the field of English biographical writing. The vivid phrases, the striking anecdotes - often based on first hand knowledge and all recorded without the slightest hint of malice - conjure up the reality of the seventeenth century in a way that no writer before or since has equalled. His passion for details, even for the trivia that make the work more rather than less valuable, was all-absorbing, and yet his recording of them was backed by very real scholarship. At the same time, however, his love of life was so intense, his curiosity so wide-ranging and so insatiable, that no project he put his hand to ever really reached completion. This edition of more than a hundred of the Lives, based on the often chaotic manuscripts, has been specially commissioned by the Society. A further outstanding feature lies in the fact that, for the first time, every life included carries an accompanying contemporary portrait. (Folio Society). 10" x 6", 326pp, full grey 'canvas' with the front and spine blocked in brown and gold with a repeat pattern, brown blocked title panel, gold spine lettering, hardback. Printed on laid paper. Illustrated with contemporary monochrome portraits. Spine sunned (appears 'dulled') fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with very good (uneven sunning) sound, original, slip-case.
[Order code:6144 / Price £5.00]

Aubrey, John - Brief Lives. Folio Society, 1990, 6th impression of reissued edition. Outspoken and intimate, gossiping and haphazard, Aubrey's often quoted Brief Lives was a pioneer work in the field of English biographical writing. The vivid phrases, the striking anecdotes - often based on first hand knowledge and all recorded without the slightest hint of malice - conjure up the reality of the seventeenth century in a way that no writer before or since has equalled. His passion for details, even for the trivia that make the work more rather than less valuable, was all-absorbing, and yet his recording of them was backed by very real scholarship. At the same time, however, his love of life was so intense, his curiosity so wide-ranging and so insatiable, that no project he put his hand to ever really reached completion. This edition of more than a hundred of the Lives, based on the often chaotic manuscripts, has been specially commissioned by the Society. A further outstanding feature lies in the fact that, for the first time, every life included carries an accompanying contemporary portrait. (Folio Society). 10" x 6", 326pp, quarter dark-green cloth with pale biscuit cloth sides, black blocked title panels on spine and front board, gold blocked lettering, hardback. Illustrated with contemporary monochrome portraits. Slight bump to top-front corner of front-board, fine, complete with slip-case that has a bumped spine corner and some faint white marks.
[Order code:11604 / Price £4.00]

Aubrey, John - Brief Lives. Folio Society, 1975, 1st thus. A newly edited version from the chaotic manuscripts of almost a hundred of the lives, outspoken, intimate, gossiping and haphazard, which made Aubrey a pioneer of English biography. (Folio Society). 10" x 6", 326pp, full grey 'canvas' with the front and spine blocked in brown and gold with a repeat pattern, brown blocked title panel, gold spine lettering, hardback. Printed on laid paper. Illustrated with contemporary monochrome portraits. Spine sunned (appears 'dulled'); fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with good only (sunned round the edges; split along one edge of the spine; sunned spine; edge-wear) slip-case.
[Order code:11801 / Price £4.00]

Aubrey, John - Brief Lives. Folio Society, 1988, 5th impression (reissued in quarter green cloth binding to match 'Worlds of John Aubrey'; 1st thus). Almost a hundred of the Lives, outspoken, intimate, gossiping and haphazard, which made Aubrey a pioneer of biography. (Folio Society). 10" x 6", 326pp, quarter dark-green cloth with pale biscuit cloth sides, black blocked title panels on spine and front board, gold blocked lettering, hardback. Printed on laid paper. Illustrated with contemporary monochrome portraits. Fine (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with fine slip-case.
[Order code:18574 / Price £5.00]

Austen, Jane - Emma. Folio Society, 1962, 1st thus. Emma was 'handsome, clever and rich', and accustomed to ruling her little world. But she was not so spoilt as to be incurable - and it is the gentlemanly hero Mr Knightley who plays no small part in the cure. (Folio Society). 9" x 5ž", 382pp, quarter light-grey cloth, orange paper sides printed with a repeat patttern, gold blocked spine lettering, hardback. Illustrated endpapers (monochrome drawings of Chawton and Austen), identical. Illustrated with monochrome wood-engravings by Joan Hassall within the text. Sunned spine (as usual with this edition), fine, complete with very good (edge wear, 1 end and spine sunned; very slight sunning round opening) slip-case. Please note that at this time (early '60s) the Society's slip-cases were not particularly good fits; this is, however, the genuine slip-case for this book.
[Order code:4762 / Price £9.00]

Austen, Jane - Shorter Works. Folio Society, 1963, 1st thus. Contains: Lady Susan, Love and Friendship, The Watsons, Sanditon, Catharine, The History of England, Lesley Castle, Evelyn, Frederic and Elfrida, Jack and Alice, Edgar and Emma, Henry and Eliza and The Three Sisters. 9" x 5ž", 304pp, light-grey cloth, pinkish-orange paper sides with a repeat pattern in dark-red, gold blocked spine lettering, hardback. red-brown endpapers with cameo darwings of Chawton and Austen (identical either end). Illustrated with monochrome wood-engravings by Joan Hassall within the text. Spine sunned (as normal); very slight bump to top-front corner of back-board; very good plus (no inscriptions, not ex-library) complete with poor (1 end missing, spine splitting from missing end, remaining end 'dusty') original slip-case. Hugely reprinted with with various alterations to the binding (always a reduction in variation to reduce costs) the first Folio Society editions of Austen's works are quite scarce.
[Order code:16595 / Price £8.00]

Austen, Jane - Northanger Abbey. Folio Society, 1960, 1st thus. 9" x 5ž", 222pp, light-grey cloth, yellow paper sides with a repeat pattern in red, gold blocked spine lettering, hardback. air-force-blue endpapers with cameo darwings of Chawton and Austen (identical either end). Illustrated with monochrome wood-engravings by Joan Hassall within the text. Spine sunned (as normal); very good plus (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with very good (one end 'dusty', slight shelf-wear/marks) sound, original slip-case. Hugely reprinted with with various alterations to the binding (always a reduction in variation to reduce costs) the first Folio Society editions of Austen's works are quite scarce.
[Order code:16597 / Price £12.00]

Austen, Jane - Mansfield Park. Folio Society, 1959, 1st thus. 9" x 5ž", 364pp, light-grey cloth, pale-orange paper sides with a repeat pattern in lavender, gold blocked spine lettering, hardback. lavender endpapers with cameo darwings of Chawton and Austen (identical either end). Illustrated with monochrome wood-engravings by Joan Hassall within the text. Spine sunned (as normal); slight edge-foxing; very good (no inscriptions, no bumps, not ex-library) complete with very good minus (edge-wear; foxing to/around one end; a little 'delicate') but as these cases go, which were weak even when new, not bad; original slip-case; also still has its original sign-up a new member post-card.
[Order code:17888 / Price £10.00]

How To Order | E-mail Me | Home

Folio Society Sorted By Author's Surname - Next Section:

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |