Sims, George. The Despain Papers. First edition. Philadelphia, Holmes Publishing Co., 1992. 27.5 x 13 cm. 146 pages. Original Hardcover with original dustjacket. Excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear on the dustjacket.

Includes for example the following chapters: Jack Quinn, a dealer in rare books and manuscripts, is asked by an American cutomer to discover what had happened to the papers of Gerald Despain, a fanatical anti-Semite and British traitor, who flew to Germany on the outbreak of war in September 1939 in order to join the Nazis. The papers had been sold in Marlow to a buyer who gave the name “Mr. Principle”. This enquiry sets Quinn off on a picaresque quest in which he questions a highly successful art dealer, a devious auctioneer’s clerk, the widow of a very wealthy Conservative MP and a much decorated British general. In part it is a journey back into the past, to the period when it was said that the Wanhohi river ran cocktails and “Cocaine was taken like snuff in the Happy Valley.”

As Quinn’s enquiries continue three cold blooded murders take place, all connected, in an odd way with Gerald Despain. Quinn finds personal reasons for persisting with his quest, little realizing that it may take him into danger.

• Keywords: Literature · Modern Literature
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0961969334
• Inventory Number: 80096AB

Our price: EUR 25,--