St Marys Books

First edition in original 'triple decker' format that was popular at the time. Hardback bound near-contemporary in half black leather with double-ruled gilt bands and gilt stamped title to spine. Marbled boards. Orange endpapers that appear to have been renewed to the gutter. Bookplate to volume i of William Hugh Curtis. Binding is rubbed, with a few scuffs and small chips. Corners worn to edges. Foxing to prelims, and faint occasional spotting throughout. Half title to volume i is starting. Pages are cleaned for the most part if a little toned and thumbed to the edges. Browning to front and rear. Overall very good condition. The set remains smart and clean. Volume i - viii + 298 pp. Volume ii - viii + 275 pp. Volume iii - vii + 266 pp. Henry Kingsley (1830-1876) was the younger brother of the better-known Charles Kingsley, to whom this book is dedicated. Ravenshoe is his second novel which he wrote after returning to England from Australia, where he had moved and served on the mounted police for a time. Considered to be the best of his works, Ravenshoe chronicles the lives of a noble family of the same name, and the divisions within between the Catholics and Protestants. Noted for its complexities in plot, the work is an engrossing inheritance intrigue with references to the Crimean War and Australian landscape. A rare, collectable set, seldom appearing on the market.