[1883] 234pp, plus publisher's catalogue at rear. Monochrome plate frontispiece. In decorative trade covers, green cloth-covered boards with illustrations front and spine. 12mo. Boards are very worn, rubbed all round edges, cracked and fraying along spine joints, marked. Endpapers tanned, faint & occasional spotting. Pages of first signature loose. Prize presentation inscription and stamp on front free endpaper. Francesca M Steel, who often wrote under her pen name Darley Dale, was a popular author of children's books in the late 19th and early 20th century. Her titles have long been out of print and some, such as this one, are very hard to find. We would not usually offer a book in this condition but this fair only copy may fill a gap in a collection until a better copy can be sourced and afforded; it is perfectly readable.
Darley Dale, Vintage Books, Children's Books
