LONG LIVE THE KING

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1917. First Edition. . Hardcover. Good Plus/No Jacket. Today Rinehart is remembered primarily as competing with Agatha Christie for the title of foremost mystery writer of the first half of the 20th century but she also wrote very popular mainstream novels such as "Long Live The King," a "Ruritanian" romantic adventure set in a pair of mythical European countries and featuring a ten-year-old prince as well as a princess in love with a commoner. It was published in 1917 when Rinehart was working as a war correspondent for Saturday Evening Post during WWI. First Printing, First Edition. About 5 x 7 1/2 inches in dark green cloth-covered boards with an heraldic design in upper right corner of front cover. Design and lettering on cover and spine in red and gold. 485 pages with 8 illustrations, including the frontispiece. Sorry, no dustjacket. Boards show wear at spine ends and corners. Front hinge is cracked in front of the half-title page, leaving the front cover and end pages loosened though still attached as paste down is holding. Rest of binding is also a bit loose but still holding well. Rear hinge remains intact and text is complete including tissue protecting frontispiece. Text edges show some soiling with two tiny stains on fore edge. Text is clean with an occasional stain, unmarked with no tears or creases. Overall, a first edition copy requiring some minimal repair for continued service as a place holder or reading copy.