Click for full-size.
Satan in the Suburbs and Other Stories
by Bertrand Russell
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good+/Good
- Seller
-
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Second Printing stated.
148 p.; ill. Gray hardcover, with gilt lettering to black cloth spine, has minor edgewear and fading, a tiny brown mark to ffep, and expected aging to pages, but is otherwise Near Fine. Dust jacket, which shows some aging and edgewear, including sunning, small tears, chips, and abrasions, is housed in a protective removable plastic sleeve to prevent further wear.
Please see listing images.
From the dust jacket:
In his eighty-first year our greatest living philosopher, shortly after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, has turned to fiction. "A few words may be in order," writes Lord Russell, "to mitigate any surprise that might be felt. I do not think that the reader's surprise to find me attempting stories can be greater than my own. For some reason entirely unknown to me I suddenly wished to write the stories in this volume, although I had never before thought of doing such a thing. I am incapable of critical judgment in this field and I do not know whether the stories have any value. All I know is that it gave me pleasure to write them and that therefore there may be people who will find pleasure in reading them. I should be very sorry if it were supposed that the stories were meant to point a moral or illustrate a doctrine. Each of them was written for its own sake, simply as a story, and if it is found either interesting or amusing it has served its purpose."
When the author of Principia Mathematica, A History of Western Philosophy, Unpopular Essays, The Impact of Science on Society (and sixty other books) forsook pure reason, abstract syllogisms, and systematic logic for this "gay and irreverent gambol on the lower slopes of Parnassus," he turned to a cloak-and-dagger world of dark conspiracies and violent vendettas—the realm of Rider Haggard and Monte Cristo. The first story was published anonymously in a British magazine last year, and a prize was offered to anybody who could correctly name the author. Thousands of letters were received and virtually every famous English writer was named, living or dead, from Galsworthy, Shaw and Wells to Maugham and Noel Coward. Not one reader suggested Bertrand Russell!
The English edition of this book of short stories has already evoked extraordinary critical acclaim. British reviewers have compared these mannered, incredible, terse, astringent and utterly imaginative tales not only with the romances of Dumas and Rider Haggard, but with the novelettes of Max Beerbohm, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Conan Doyle. The style is unashamedly old-fashioned; the mood wry, irreverent, and impish; the plots conventional, and orderly, almost Euclidean in their neatness; the prose cultivated, ornate, striking, a refreshing and nostalgic note on the modern ear-like ultra-modern science-fiction with a counterpoint from Candide.
The stories deal with saturnine machinations and strange blood-brotherhoods in the Corsican mountains, with devilish doctors in the London suburbs whose brass name-plates advertise "Horrors Manufactured Here"—with secret oaths and macabre schemes to destroy the world, with Oxbridge Masters who perpetrate black crimes, and strange dons who commit even the unforgivable sin of voting for themselves at elections with press lords flouting moral and legal taboos, and vicars forgetting even the most crucial commandments.
Perhaps only Bertrand Russell, in this playful and satiric mood, could write: I was young in those days and had not that stern devotion to moral principles which enables man to inflict a torture without compunction. Perhaps only our greatest living mathematitian-philosopher, in this ironic vein, writing fiction purely as a lark, could show the Martians first conquering our planet and "then preparing for an expedition of extermination against the equally degraded inhabitants of Venus." Perhaps only the revered "Attorney-General for Reason in our time" could describe the Satanic villain of one of his stories as "the evil prince of the world—for in him, in his malignant mind, in his cold destructive intellect, are concentrated in quintessential form, all the baseness, all the cruelty, all the hopeless rage of all feeble men aspiring to be Titans."
In these diverting tales we find a gay mocker of all solemn morality and a Voltairean view of human passions and motives. The formal eighteenth century Ianguage of a twentieth century philosopher-turned-story-teller adds delightfully to this ironic mood.
148 p.; ill. Gray hardcover, with gilt lettering to black cloth spine, has minor edgewear and fading, a tiny brown mark to ffep, and expected aging to pages, but is otherwise Near Fine. Dust jacket, which shows some aging and edgewear, including sunning, small tears, chips, and abrasions, is housed in a protective removable plastic sleeve to prevent further wear.
Please see listing images.
From the dust jacket:
In his eighty-first year our greatest living philosopher, shortly after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, has turned to fiction. "A few words may be in order," writes Lord Russell, "to mitigate any surprise that might be felt. I do not think that the reader's surprise to find me attempting stories can be greater than my own. For some reason entirely unknown to me I suddenly wished to write the stories in this volume, although I had never before thought of doing such a thing. I am incapable of critical judgment in this field and I do not know whether the stories have any value. All I know is that it gave me pleasure to write them and that therefore there may be people who will find pleasure in reading them. I should be very sorry if it were supposed that the stories were meant to point a moral or illustrate a doctrine. Each of them was written for its own sake, simply as a story, and if it is found either interesting or amusing it has served its purpose."
When the author of Principia Mathematica, A History of Western Philosophy, Unpopular Essays, The Impact of Science on Society (and sixty other books) forsook pure reason, abstract syllogisms, and systematic logic for this "gay and irreverent gambol on the lower slopes of Parnassus," he turned to a cloak-and-dagger world of dark conspiracies and violent vendettas—the realm of Rider Haggard and Monte Cristo. The first story was published anonymously in a British magazine last year, and a prize was offered to anybody who could correctly name the author. Thousands of letters were received and virtually every famous English writer was named, living or dead, from Galsworthy, Shaw and Wells to Maugham and Noel Coward. Not one reader suggested Bertrand Russell!
The English edition of this book of short stories has already evoked extraordinary critical acclaim. British reviewers have compared these mannered, incredible, terse, astringent and utterly imaginative tales not only with the romances of Dumas and Rider Haggard, but with the novelettes of Max Beerbohm, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Conan Doyle. The style is unashamedly old-fashioned; the mood wry, irreverent, and impish; the plots conventional, and orderly, almost Euclidean in their neatness; the prose cultivated, ornate, striking, a refreshing and nostalgic note on the modern ear-like ultra-modern science-fiction with a counterpoint from Candide.
The stories deal with saturnine machinations and strange blood-brotherhoods in the Corsican mountains, with devilish doctors in the London suburbs whose brass name-plates advertise "Horrors Manufactured Here"—with secret oaths and macabre schemes to destroy the world, with Oxbridge Masters who perpetrate black crimes, and strange dons who commit even the unforgivable sin of voting for themselves at elections with press lords flouting moral and legal taboos, and vicars forgetting even the most crucial commandments.
Perhaps only Bertrand Russell, in this playful and satiric mood, could write: I was young in those days and had not that stern devotion to moral principles which enables man to inflict a torture without compunction. Perhaps only our greatest living mathematitian-philosopher, in this ironic vein, writing fiction purely as a lark, could show the Martians first conquering our planet and "then preparing for an expedition of extermination against the equally degraded inhabitants of Venus." Perhaps only the revered "Attorney-General for Reason in our time" could describe the Satanic villain of one of his stories as "the evil prince of the world—for in him, in his malignant mind, in his cold destructive intellect, are concentrated in quintessential form, all the baseness, all the cruelty, all the hopeless rage of all feeble men aspiring to be Titans."
In these diverting tales we find a gay mocker of all solemn morality and a Voltairean view of human passions and motives. The formal eighteenth century Ianguage of a twentieth century philosopher-turned-story-teller adds delightfully to this ironic mood.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- The Mortuary Korps
(CA)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 000174
- Title
- Satan in the Suburbs and Other Stories
- Author
- Bertrand Russell
- Illustrator
- Àsgeir Scott (illustrations); Paul Bacon (jacket)
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good+
- Jacket Condition
- Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First American edition, Second Printing
- Publisher
- Simon and Schuster
- Place of Publication
- New York, NY, U.S.A.
- Date Published
- 1953
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Fiction; 20th century; cults; blood-brothers; secret societies; brotherhoods; doctors; aliens; horror; crime; dark; taboo; satire; humor
- Bookseller catalogs
- Horror; Crime Fiction; Mystery; Science Fiction; Cults; Medical; Humour;
- Size
- 23
Terms of Sale
The Mortuary Korps
30-DAY RETURN GUARANTEE
Lost in Transit/Not Received
If the order does not arrive within 7 business days of the estimated delivery date for domestic shipments, or within 14 business days of the estimated delivery date for international shipments, you are eligible for a full refund of the purchase price, including shipping costs.
[Contact Biblio.com within 30 days of the estimated delivery date.]
Incomplete or Incorrect Address Provided by Customer/Unclaimed/Returned to Sender/Etc.
If the book is returned for this type of reason, the refund price will include the book price only.
[Contact Biblio.com within 30 days of the estimated delivery date.]
Incorrect Book/Not as Described/Damaged Before or In Transit
If by our error, a full refund of the purchase price, including the original shipping costs, will be issued. At our discretion, return shipping costs may be covered. To receive a refund, you must send the item back to us within 30 days of the estimated delivery date, in the same condition in which it was received.
[Contact support@biblio.com before returning your item.]
Changed Your Mind/Ordered the Wrong Title
At our discretion, we will process a refund of the book price, but not shipping, for this reason if the book is returned within 7 days. Please contact us to discuss your issue.
[Contact support@biblio.com before returning your item.]
SHIPPING
Orders will be shipped via Canada Post at a flat rate:
Canada $12.00, additional book $2.00
USA $14.50, additional book $6.00
International $17.00, additional book $5.25
Should your order be larger and/or heavier than usual, or otherwise require extra expense due to specific destination, we may request additional shipping charges to be approved via Biblio before the order will be processed.
Ask about local delivery or pickup!
About the Seller
The Mortuary Korps
Biblio member since 2018
Winnipeg, Manitoba
About The Mortuary Korps
☁ ☾
⧚⻕⧚⧚⧚⧚⻕⧚⧚⧚⧚⻕⧚⧚⧚⧚⻔⧚⧚⧚⧚⻕⧚⧚
⩍⨅⩍⁖⁛⩀ฅ⩄⁘⨅⁛⁘⁘⁛⁘⩍⨅⩍⁖
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ⁛⩍⁖⨅⩍⁖⁛⩍⁙⁛ฅ
⁛⁘⁛⩍⁖⁖⩍⩍⁙⁛⩄⩍⨅⁖⁛ԅ(¯﹃¯ԅ)⁘⁛
⩀⩄⁘⨅⁛⁘⩍⨅⩍⁖⁛⩀⩄⁘⨅⁘⁛⩍⁖⁖⁘⩍⨅
ᓚᘏᗢ 𝕋𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖘 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕋𝖔𝖒𝖇𝖘
A dark edifice standing only on this digital plane of existence, the Mortuary is devoted to all that is curious in the world: from medical oddities and the criminal mind to supernatural realms and dark fantasy.
All listings include multiple images. If you require more photographs in order to make a decision, do not hesitate to send a note. All images are included simply to exhibit overall condition of specific items and are removed from display as soon as item is sold; should there be a copyright-based objection to any image, simply contact The Mortuary Korps and we will happily removed the offending images immediately.
Offers are accepted on items that qualify for OA with Biblio, but you are also welcome to contact us directly with any offer and your reasons (be they personal circumstance or business) and we may offer the discount you desire (be it dollars or cents).
Ask about local delivery or pickup!
Feel free to send us your special interests if you wish to be contacted directly when we find an item that may specifically interest you.
⧚⻕⧚⧚⧚⧚⻕⧚⧚⧚⧚⻕⧚⧚⧚⧚⻔⧚⧚⧚⧚⻕⧚⧚
⩍⨅⩍⁖⁛⩀ฅ⩄⁘⨅⁛⁘⁘⁛⁘⩍⨅⩍⁖
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ⁛⩍⁖⨅⩍⁖⁛⩍⁙⁛ฅ
⁛⁘⁛⩍⁖⁖⩍⩍⁙⁛⩄⩍⨅⁖⁛ԅ(¯﹃¯ԅ)⁘⁛
⩀⩄⁘⨅⁛⁘⩍⨅⩍⁖⁛⩀⩄⁘⨅⁘⁛⩍⁖⁖⁘⩍⨅
ᓚᘏᗢ 𝕋𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖘 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕋𝖔𝖒𝖇𝖘
A dark edifice standing only on this digital plane of existence, the Mortuary is devoted to all that is curious in the world: from medical oddities and the criminal mind to supernatural realms and dark fantasy.
All listings include multiple images. If you require more photographs in order to make a decision, do not hesitate to send a note. All images are included simply to exhibit overall condition of specific items and are removed from display as soon as item is sold; should there be a copyright-based objection to any image, simply contact The Mortuary Korps and we will happily removed the offending images immediately.
Offers are accepted on items that qualify for OA with Biblio, but you are also welcome to contact us directly with any offer and your reasons (be they personal circumstance or business) and we may offer the discount you desire (be it dollars or cents).
Ask about local delivery or pickup!
Feel free to send us your special interests if you wish to be contacted directly when we find an item that may specifically interest you.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- FFEP
- A common abbreviation for Front Free End Paper. Generally, it is the first page of a book and is part of a single sheet that...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
Collecting Disneyana
Welcome to the wonderful world of collecting Walt Disney! From letters signed by Disney himself to classic children’s books or ephemera, be sure to check out some of the collectible Walt Disney books on Biblio!
Collecting Miniature Books
Teeny, tiny, beautiful books...the world of miniature books is one that involves a lot of imagination and craftsmanship. Dive in and see!
