First published in 1988, Hong Kong is a portrait of the British Empire's last, most anachronistic outpost, as the countdown to the handover gathers momentum. Written with her trademark elegance and panache, the great travel write Jan Morris depicts a city tragically suspended between a colonial past and the uncertainties of China's future. 'It is difficult to think of anyone who could recount this tale with such authority, elegance and sensitivity as Jan Morris ... Here, she portrays what has always been Britain's most adjective-defying colony ... Morris so clearly likes the place, but she is not sentimental, nor is she blind to Hong Kong's flaws; she is aware of rootlessness in the teeming energy.' TLS. 'The book captures the contradictions and mad terror of Hong Kong better than could a novel - it's a dramatic documentary ... ' Evening Standard. Franklin Library, 1988. First Edition; First Printing. Fine, Leather Bound, Accented in 22kt gold. Printed on archival paper with gilded edges. The endsheets are of moire fabric with a silk ribbon page marker. Smyth sewing and concealed muslin joints. Signed by Jan Morris.

Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, The Learned Ladies, The School for Wives. The Miser. Le Misanthrope, almost from the start, was treated as a masterpiece by discerning playgoers, if not by the entire public. It is a drawing-room comedy, without known sources, constructed from the elements of Molière's own company and first performed in 1666. Molière himself played the role of Alceste, a fool of a new kind, with high principles and rigid standards, yet by nature a blind critic of everybody else. Alceste is in love with Célimène (played by Molière's wife, Armande), a superb comic creation, equal to any and every occasion, the incarnate spirit of society. The structure of the play is as simple as it is poetic. Alceste storms moodily through the play, finding no "honest" men to agree with him, always ready to see the mote in another's eye, blind to the beam in his own, as ignorant of his real nature as a Tartuffe. Illustrated by Tony Johnnot, 503 gilt-edges pages, gilt decorations and patterns to front and rear panels, red leatherbound, 1985, accented in 22kt gold. Printed on archival paper with gilded edges. The endsheets are of moire fabric with a silk ribbon page marker. Smyth sewing and concealed muslin joints.

Welcome to the America of the 21st century. The O-Zone is a forbidding land of nuclear waste, mutants, and aliens, except for one place that is a beautiful oasis amidst the destruction. When two aliens that look suspiciously human are shot, Hooper Allbright, disturbed by the memories of those he once loved, goes back down into the O-Zone to try to reach the people he lost, though they may be unreachable by now. "Smart, witty, grotesque, and brutal." - The Philadelphia Inquirer. Signed First Edition Society, Limited 1st edition 1986, SIGNED BY AUTHOR. Beautiful brown full leather binding with gold gilt decoration and page edges. Raised bands on spine. Silk ribbon page marker. 519 pages.

A haunting tale of obsessive love and a mesmerizing psychological thriller, set in Monte Carlo, our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at Manderley, her husband's cavernous estate on the Cornish coast, that she realizes how vast a shadow his late wife, Rebecca, will cast over their lives - introducing a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their love from beyond the grave. 403 gilt-edged pages, 1988, red leather with capital R in gold on cover and etched gold blocked design, illustrations by Hilary Mosberg.

In turn-of-the-century Australia, Tim Shea supports his young family by running a general store in a remote riverside town where he finds the same hypocrisy and snobbery which made him emigrate from Ireland, and suffers a series of misfortunes which take him to the brink of disaster. Capturing the spirit of the times and place, this is the mesmerising tale of a flawed hero whose stubborn integrity is nearly his undoing. Gilt embossed, bound in Fine Genuine brown leather - 22kt gold-stamped spine accents, distinctive raised spine hubs, specially milled acid-neutral paper, Smyth-sewn pages, gilded page edges. Permanent satin ribbon page-marker, 325 pages, 1995 Franklin Library.

"It's high summer when Molly Pargeter drags her amiably bickering family to a rented Tuscan villa for the holidays. Molly is sure that the house is the perfect setting for their three-week getaway, but soon she becomes fascinated by the lives of the absent owners and things start to go horribly wrong. With a cosy fluency of wit, Mortimer charms us into his urbane tangle of clues." - Mail on Sunday. Gilt embossed, bound in fine genuine leather in blue, red and gold checkerboard design, 22kt gold-stamped spine accents, distinctive raised spine hubs, specially milled acid-neutral paper, Smyth-sewn pages, gilded page edges. Permanent satin ribbon page-marker. 1998, SIGNED by the author.

An overt autobiography of Arthur Miller, Timebends illuminates both the inner evolution of one man in these last decades, and the endlessly changing pressures and revelations of the times upon his life and imagination. "... if you are interested in how one of the most famous American playwrights wrote his plays, among them "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible." It was written in 1987, and he died in 2005, so the book has been around for quite a while. The scope is amazing, covering the Depression, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, McCarthyism and the HUAC black listings, Viet Nam and the protest movement, Miller's three marriages (including the second one to Marilyn Monroe), and his fight for the freedom of writers around the world to write as their consciences dictated. The book is heavy on his philosophy, and it is fascinating to see how it changes over the years as he ages and becomes disillusioned, especially with Communism." " This is one of the most beautifully written books that I have ever read. I recommend it to everybody who is interested in writing." Gilt embossed, bound in fine red leather and gold block wavy design, 22kt gold-stamped spine accents, distinctive raised spine hubs, specially milled acid-neutral paper, Smyth-sewn pages, gilded page edges. Permanent satin ribbon page-marker. 1997 Franklin Library Leather Bound FIRST EDITION SIGNED.

1996, 328 pages, SIGNED by Alison Lurie, Pulitzer-winning writer and professor. Whether writing about lovelorn academics or the ability of buildings to influence the way people see themselves in the world, Lurie's wide-ranging body of work was united by her keen intelligence, probing curiosity and savvy wit. In this comedy, a biographer out to vindicate a neglected female artist learns that the truth is never tidy. Polly Alter is through with men. Recovering from her divorce, she has taken a year off from her museum job to write a biography of Lorin Jones, a sensitive painter who died young and nearly forgotten. Polly is determined to bring the artist the public acclaim she deserves, making up for the neglect and exploitation Lorin suffered from the men in her life. The only problem with the story of Lorin's victimhood is that it may not be true. And as Polly wades deeper into her research, growing more attached to her subject, and more lost in the world of two decades past, she begins to realize that no life story is as simple as a biographer might wish. Gilt embossed, bound in fine black leather and gold block geometric Art Deco design, 22kt gold-stamped spine accents, distinctive raised spine hubs, specially milled acid-neutral paper, Smyth-sewn pages, gilded page edges. Permanent satin ribbon page-marker, SIGNED by Alison Lurie.

The classic novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1848, is a satirical and witty commentary on English society in the early 19th century, following the lives of two young women as they navigate the ups and downs of their social and personal lives. Meet Miss Amelia Sedley and Miss Becky Sharp who study in Miss Pinkerton's private boarding. Amelia is a daughter of successful businessman. She has a calm character and everybody loves her. Becky is an orphan, daughter of an artist and a French dancer. She is a pretty, clever and speaks French. She lives in Miss Pinkerton's house and while getting an education also works as a teacher of French for younger girls. Amelia and Rebecca are friends, but Amelia is a rich and she can't understand Becky's problems and help her. After the girls have completed private boarding together, Amelia is going to be married to officer Osborn whom she loves him very much. Rebecca has been offered the job of a governess in an aristocratic family, but before starting it, was invited to visit in Amelia's house. Miss Sharp meets Amelia's brother and wants to marry him, but this is impossible... Gilt embossed, bound in fine leather and gold block geometric Art Deco design, 22kt gold-stamped spine accents, distinctive raised spine hubs, specially milled acid-neutral paper, Smyth-sewn pages, gilded page edges. Permanent satin ribbon page-marker. 1981, 678 gilt-edged pages.

Mrs Scrooge, Another Night Before Christmas, The Christmas Truce, Wenceslas, Bethlehem, Dorothy Wordsworth's Christmas Birthday, The Wren-Boys, The King of Christmas, Pablo Picasso's Noël and Frost Fair are the poems that Professor Duffy while Poet Laureate gifted readers - an illustrated poem for every Christmas. She transports us one year from a frozen 17th century festival on the Thames, another to the Western Front to witness the famous 1914 truce, then to a sweet winter's night in the South of France with Pablo Picasso and his small dog. 'A sweet winter light blushed as Pablo Picasso walked with his dog under the cypress trees and the bell of the old chapel guessed at the hour. It was Christmas Eve. The scent of rosemary gifted the cold air and he felt his heart lift with a joie de vivre that had made his art the world's exuberant twin - everything to win...' 10 very gifted artists in bold full page spiced with wintery illustrations capture the magic many of us left behind in childhood alongside Duffy's spellbinding verse. A very glamorous foil trimmed jacket, 240pp.