{"product_id":"the-mystery-of-the-rue-de-babylone-john-n-raphael-1st-edition","title":"The Mystery of the Rue de Babylone, John N. Raphael — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"2\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003ePublication:\u003c\/b\u003e London, Grafton \u0026amp; Co., 1916\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.\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 Near Fine. A remarkably sharp and well-preserved survivor from 1916, this copy boasts an exceptionally bright original brown cloth binding, with its black ruled borders and typography remaining crisp and entirely unrubbed. The boards are tight and square, showing only the faintest suggestion of handling wear and a negligible superficial speck to the rear panel, completely avoiding the heavy bumping, fading, or cloth fraying typical of wartime publications. Internally, the hinges are impeccably sound and the text block is securely bound. The pages themselves are strikingly clean and bright, completely free from the heavy foxing or browning that plagues the cheaper paper stock of this era, with only the most trivial whisper of dustiness to the extreme page edges. An exemplary copy.\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 First Edition. A remarkably scarce World War I-era English adaptation of a French detective novel, freely translated by the Paris-based English journalist, novelist, and playwright John Nathan Raphael (1868–1917). The original French source material is Marcel Guillain’s \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"287\"\u003eLe Mystère du Train de Sept Heures\u003c\/i\u003e (1912), making this a fascinating example of cross-Channel literary transmission during the formative years of modern crime fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003eThe scarcity of this edition on the open market cannot be overstated. The title is conspicuously absent from standard bibliographies such as Glover \u0026amp; Greene's \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"159\"\u003eVictorian Detective Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e, appearing only as a solitary entry in Hubin’s \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"234\"\u003eBibliography of Crime Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e (p. 338). Surviving copies of this 1916 Grafton imprint are extraordinarily rare in commerce, let alone in such exceptionally well-preserved original cloth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003ePlunge into the shadowy depths of Parisian intrigue with \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"64\"\u003eThe Mystery of the Rue de Babylone\u003c\/i\u003e. Adapted from the French by John N. Raphael, this gripping, fast-paced early twentieth-century mystery sweeps readers into a high-stakes investigation of a baffling crime in the heart of the French capital. Brimming with atmospheric tension and the sophisticated charm of classic Continental detective fiction, it stands as a brilliant and virtually forgotten gem of the genre.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54389297840467,"sku":"4759","price":195.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260717_201237.jpg?v=1784832543","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/the-mystery-of-the-rue-de-babylone-john-n-raphael-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}