Description
1974 edition. Dust jacket has some wear and small tears along the sides. Hardcover has some minor wear along the sides, scuffs and marks. Spine has some wear on the top and bottom. Pages are clean and the binding is secure.
This copy of “The Methods of Uncle Abner” by Melville Davisson Post offers a window into the early development of the American detective fiction genre. Published in 1974, this edition preserves Post’s pioneering short story collection that first appeared in 1917. Set in the author’s native West Virginia, these tales introduce the character of Uncle Abner, an eccentric backwoods philosopher and amateur sleuth who solves mysteries through keen observation and rural wisdom. Post’s work predated the more famous Sherlock Holmes stories and helped establish the American vernacular mystery tradition later exemplified by writers like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Though showing its age with some wear, this vintage copy maintains the integrity of Post’s influential yet underappreciated tales. Collectors of early American mystery fiction and regional literature will appreciate owning this significant but often overlooked classic in a readable ex-library edition.