The Fortune Press: London, UK, 1952.
 
Second English edition, first printed in 1946 by The Fortune Press. Earlier edition printed as ‘Down There’ in 1930 by The Fortune Press. Publishers address of ’15 Belgrave Road’ printed on title page, and page count, suggests this as the 1952 edition despite the year of publication being omitted by the publisher (essentially a given for The Fortune Press). [D’Arch Smith, 1983]. Hardcover. 8vo. 232pp. Bound in sage green cloth, titled gilt stamped on spine. Very mild shelf-wear to head and tail of spine.  Mild toning to free end-papers. Fore-edge and bottom of text-block uncut. Very Good condition in Very Good yellow and red dust-wrapper, not price-clipped, still showing 15s price, and protected in a mylar wrapper.
 
A Bowdlerised version of a classic by this 19th century French author. Described as ‘One of the most terrible and one of the most truthful books which has ever been written’, the story sees ‘Durtal’, a thinly veiled version of the author, drawn into the world of fin-de-siecle Satanism.  Another of our Crucis Books 'house favourites'.
 
£150.