Death Under Sail

London: William Heinemann [through 1959], 1932. Hardcover. Fine/Fine-. Revised and reset (first published 1932) edition of Snow's first novel, an ingenious detective story set on the Norfolk Broads—"a murderer making his murder look like a suicide arranged to look like a murder." 8vo: viii,255,[1]pp. Publisher's scarlet cloth, spine gilt, pictorial dust jacket priced 12s/6d. A Fine, bright, unread copy, in an about Fine jacket, lightly toned. According to the "Author's Note," Death Under Sail served as a signal to Snow, "though not to many others," that he proposed to give up scientific work and turn to writing novels, though not detective fiction. His next novel, published anonymously, was science fiction (New Lives for Old), followed by a bildungsroman about the loss of a scientific vocation (The Search). But forty-seven years after publication of Death Under Sail, in his final novel (A Coat of Varnish, 1979), Snow returned to the detective story. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).