The Daughters of Cain
London: Macmillan, 1994. First Edition. 8vo, 9 1/8 x 6 inches (232 x 152 mm); xxii, 295 pp. Original full blue cloth binding with gilt title on spine; book marker ribbon; original dust wrapper, unclipped and protected in archival mylar sleeve. Pages clean, firmly bound, with a small 4 mm brown stain to the lower fore edge, not affecting pages. Color photograph postcard loosely inserted.
FIRST EDITION – INSCRIBED "For Ed Edgar — | With every best wish | always to my co-author." and SIGNED by the author.
The postcard, bearing a reproduction of Colin Dexter's signature below a color photograph of an iron-bladed Rhodesian knife, which is described on a label affixed to its wooden handle. The verso of the postcard is printed "Pitts Rivers Museum, Oxford" and "Featured in The Daughters of Cain by Colin Dexter".
The ELEVENTH novel from Dexter's Inspector Morse series.
Plot: "The body of Dr Felix McClure, Ancient History don of Wolsey College, Oxford, is found in his flat. A brutal murder – a single stab to the stomach with a broad knife. The knife used to kill McClure was stolen from the museum..." This novel was adapted for television in the Inspector Morse series, airing as The Daughters of Cain, the second episode in series 8 in 1996.
English crime novelist Dexter (1930–2017) was best known for creating the erudite, music-loving Inspector Morse. The novels are noted for complex, crossword-style plots recognized for their intellectual, witty, and deeply atmospheric depiction of Oxford, ensuring Dexter's legacy alongside classic mystery authors. His excellence was recognized with several Crime Writer's Association awards: Two Silver Daggers, Two Gold Daggers and A Cartier Diamond Dagger. He also received an OBE for his services to literature in 2000. The novels were adapted into the hit TV series Inspector Morse (1987–2000), starring John Thaw, which spawned the spin-offs Inspector Lewis and Endeavour. Dexter lived in Oxford, was an avid crossword setter for The Oxford Times; he died in 2017.
The author inscribed the book to his very good friend EDGAR GEOFFREY RAYNER (born 1927) who is an historian and prolific author of popular history books (many with co-author Ron Stapley, including Who Was Mr Nobody: Debunking Historical Mysteries, 2007; Debunking History, 2009; Debunking Women's History, 2010. Dexter and Rayner met while teaching at Wyggeston Grammar School —Colin Dexter's first teaching post after graduating from Christ's College, Cambridge. Although Dexter had moved on to Corby Grammar School by 1959, the two collaborated on two books on liberal studies, aimed at students in 6th form or first years of further education, in an attempt to stimulate discussion. The books were published in 1964 and 1965.
Condition: Fine / Fine.
Item number: 2295
ISBN: 0333630041
Price: $250.00
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