Undated but circa 1880. 258pp. In pictorial, paper-covered boards. 12mo. Heavily worn, covers rubbed and scuffed all round edges and joints, with chipping and soiling. Both hinges cracked, resulting in wobbly boards and fragile binding. Some spotting on first and last few pages, faintly and occasional throughout.
Three Brass Balls is a collection of short stories set in Victorian London exploring themes of mystery, crime and social deprivation and exposing London's under belly. Sims (1847-1922), a journalist, dramatist and active campaigner for social justice, is perhaps best remembered for the dramatic monologue in his Dragonet Ballads that opens with the line 'It is Christmas Day in the workhouse', and much of his writing is characterised by a strong voice for social reform and dramatisation of the suffering of the under-privileged. Although Sims was both a prolific and successful writer - reporting earning of nearly £150,000 in 1898 - some of his works, including this one, are now very hard to find.
