OPPENHEIM, E. Phillips.

The Battle of Basinghall Street.

      London: Hodder and Stoughton Limited, 1935. First Edition; thick 8vo. Publisher's blue cloth with black titles to faded spine and upper, blue end papers; in its original pictorial dustwrapper by Bip Pares, rubbed to extremities, chip to back cover and corners, frayed at spine ends, torn at head of spine with the top bar of the 'T' in the 'The' of the title missing; some small tape repairs visible from the inside of the jacket. A tight copy in a still bright and striking dust jacket. E. Phillips Oppenheim, 1866 - 1946, was the earliest writer of spy fiction as understood today, and invented the "Rogue Male" school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household. Much of Oppenheim's work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law.