Books

Half title, front., three plates. Orig. red pictorial cloth, blocked in black & green, lettered in yellow & black, spine lettered in gilt; extremities a little rubbed, small dampmark to spine, but still a lovely copy. Contemp. ink inscription on leading pastedown: 'Dr. E. S Lamdin, Baltimore, Md. August 25, 1898', with his purple ownership stamp on titlepage. See Glover & Greene 327 for the UK first edition; this edition made up of UK early issue sheets with a cancel title. First published serially in the periodical Answers over 15 weeks, starting 13 March 1897 and ending 19 June and originally titled The Peril of Paul Lessingham. One of the most important horror novels of the nineteenth century, The Beetle was published in the same year as Bram Stoker's Dracula and was initially more popular. The novel is told from the perspective of four narrators and involves an ancient Egyptian entity that is seeking revenge on a British MP who had killed a priestess from the Cult of Isis while in Egypt twenty years previously. The novel has continued to be of interest to scholars particularly in relation to its themes of gender performance, imperialism, and the gothic genre more generally. The Beetle is also a crime novel and features detective work carried out by recurring Marsh character Augustus Champnell, as well as found documents, intricate love triangles, and elements of the monstrous and uncanny.

Written by Richard Marsh, 'The Beetle' is a supernatural tale published in 1897, overlapping with Bram Stoker's release of 'Dracula'. The novel delves into horror and mystery, involving a shape-shifting creature that terrorizes London, while simultaneously exploring themes of colonialism and cultural anxieties.