{"product_id":"murder-for-pleasure-the-life-and-times-of-the-detective-story-howard-haycraft","title":"Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story, Howard Haycraft","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eMurder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story, Howard Haycraft — First Edition\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"2\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003ePublication\u003c\/b\u003e London, Peter Davies, 1942\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eFormatting\u003c\/b\u003e 8vo, pp. xxvii, [i], 347.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"4\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/b\u003e Very Good. Bound in the publisher's original red cloth, the volume remains structurally firm and square, presenting tight hinges and an unworn text block. The boards exhibit only minor bumping to the extremities and slight fading at the spine tips corresponding to areas of minor loss on the dust jacket. Internally, the book is highly commendable; the pages are bright, crisp, and entirely free of previous ownership inscriptions, with any negligible toning strictly confined to the extreme page margins and preliminary leaves. The scarce original dust jacket is unclipped, retaining the original '10s 6d net' price on the front flap. It shows moderate edge-wear, minor chipping to the head and tail of the spine, and some general age-toning to the spine and rear panel, yet it remains largely complete and highly presentable for a wartime production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/b\u003e This is the scarce First UK Edition of Howard Haycraft’s seminal study, published a year after the American true first. It features a specially contributed introduction by Nicholas Blake (the pseudonym of Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis) and includes a photographic frontispiece alongside other illustrations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003eWartime paper shortages and strict production standards meant that survival of this 1942 edition in its original dust jacket is increasingly uncommon on the open market. Loosely inserted into this copy is a fascinating vintage newspaper clipping from November 1977, an article titled “Why Mousetrap catches us all” by Christopher Booker, offering a charming piece of associative ephemera for the crime fiction enthusiast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003e\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"6\"\u003eMurder for Pleasure\u003c\/i\u003e stands as a monumental and erudite early study of the detective story, tracing the genre's evolution from Edgar Allan Poe up to the modern masters of the golden age. This comprehensive work explores the psychology, history, and structural rules of detective fiction, asserting its significance as a defining literary phenomenon of democratic societies. It remains an essential and highly readable reference for any dedicated aficionado of classic crime literature.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54316130730323,"sku":"4573","price":65.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260708_122617.jpg?v=1784118914","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/murder-for-pleasure-the-life-and-times-of-the-detective-story-howard-haycraft","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}