THE RED HOUSE MYSTERY

New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, 1922. First American Edition. Milne's major contribution to the mystery genre, a novel both criticized (in print) by Raymond Chandler, and praised by Alexander Woollcott as "one of the three best mystery stories of all time." "This book is important because it was the first to inject such levity into investigation and to present the story as a humorous game. In the story, the master of the Red House is expecting his long-lost ne'er-do-well brother to return bringing a cloud of menace after fifteen years in Australia. The brother appears, is admitted to the house, and a shot rings out. Antony Gillingham arrives in time to hear the shot and decides to turn sleuth when it develops that the master of the house has disappeared. He teams up with his friend and fellow houseguest Bill Beverly, and they look into the lake, sift the library, survey timetables, and interview witnesses to the absolutely classic conclusion" (Pronzini & Muller, pp.577-578). One of the great "locked room" mysteries and a classic of the genre, continuously in print for a century. Scarce in dustjacket. Hubin, p.294; Barzun & Taylor 1599. First Printing. Octavo (20cm); red cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; dustjacket; [x],277,[1]pp. Base of spine gently nudged, with a very faint $2.00 price rubber-stamped at upper rear endpaper, else clean throughout; very Near Fine, with the gilt bright and unrubbed. In the original dustjacket, showing light dust-soil, moderate wear, shallow loss to crown and rear flap fold, with a 1.5" x 2" triangular loss at lower rear panel, and numerous tears with attendant creases (eight of them neatly tape-mended on verso); withal, a presentable, unrestored, Very Good example.