THE FIRM OF GIRDLESTONE. A Romance of the Unromantic by Doyle, A. Conan - 1890

1890. London: Chatto & Windus, 1890. 32 pp ads dated April 1890. Original maroon cloth decorated in black.

First Edition of Arthur Conan Doyle's first novel, preceded by several short tales and by the historical MICAH CLARKE. This is a highly autobiographical tale, with good descriptions of life at Edinburgh University, a "rugger" match between England and Scotland, and a first medical examination by a medical student. THE FIRM OF GIRDLESTONE was the author's first novel... [He] began writing the book at the beginning of 1884. He was halfway through by August of the following year and finished it by November 1885. [G&G] However, no magazine or publisher would issue the book until about four years later. (One can see why: the final paragraph, for example, begins, "And now I must bid adieu to the shadowy company with whom I have walked so long. I see them going on down the vista of the future, gathering wisdom and happiness as they go...".) This copy has ads dated April 1890 -- the month of publication; some copies have ads dated January, but this may have been a case of the binder using up leftover catalogues after current ones were exhausted. This is a very good copy, with minor edge-wear at the corners and very slight cracking of the front endpaper. G&G does not indicate how many copies were printed, but judging from the book's scarcity we would estimate that it was no more than 1000. Green & Gibson A6a.