{"product_id":"to-die-like-a-gentleman-bernard-bastable-1st-edition","title":"To Die Like a Gentleman, Bernard Bastable — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication\u003c\/strong\u003e: London, Macmillan, 1993\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormatting\u003c\/strong\u003e: 8vo, pp. [vi], 208.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/strong\u003e: Very Good. The light grey cloth boards are exceptionally clean and bright, featuring sharp corners and brilliant gilt lettering to the spine, showing only the most microscopic hint of shelving wear to the spine extremities. The binding remains remarkably tight and square, opening with the stiffness of an unread copy. The text block is pleasingly solid, though the page edges and margins present a uniform, light age-toning typical of the paper stock of this period. The original, unclipped dust jacket, retaining its net price, presents beautifully with vibrant, un-faded colours across the panels, marred only by faint edge-creasing along the upper rim and a touch of rubbing at the spine ends. The interior pages are entirely pristine and free from any tears, foxing, or previous ownership inscriptions, making this a highly attractive, collectible copy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/strong\u003e: This is a true first edition, first impression of Bernard Bastable's Victorian mystery, complete with the full number line '1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2' upon the copyright page. Bastable was the historical crime pseudonym of the celebrated English mystery writer and critic Robert Barnard, who won the Cartier Diamond Dagger for his lifetime contribution to the genre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBound in the publisher’s original cloth with the 'Macmillan Crime Case' dust jacket, this edition stands as a handsome example of early 1990s British crime publishing. While not exceedingly rare on the open market, locating a first printing in such uncompromised condition, without the usual ex-library stamps or heavy reading wear commonly associated with genre fiction of this era, is becoming increasingly uncommon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet against the backdrop of 1842 Victorian England, \u003ci\u003eTo Die Like a Gentleman\u003c\/i\u003e invites readers into the seemingly proper yet deeply fractured household of Elmstead Court. Sir Richard Hudson rules his family with a tyrannical grip, alienating his rebellious daughter, frustrating his ambitious son, and driving his wife into the arms of the local physician. When the newly appointed governess, Miss Frances Weyland, arrives, she is swiftly entangled in the household's simmering rivalries and hidden passions. Yet the true threat emanates from Sir Richard's odious manservant, Joseph, whose sinister influence casts a long shadow over the estate. Told ingeniously through a medley of secret diaries and confessional letters, this gripping historical whodunit masterfully builds to an inevitable, yet startling, murder, delivered with the sly wit and meticulous plotting that are the hallmarks of Robert Barnard's enduring legacy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54968912609619,"sku":"5509","price":16.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260915_121341.jpg?v=1789640946","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/to-die-like-a-gentleman-bernard-bastable-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}