Scarce Novel of a Sacred Sword
Durandal: A Crusader in the Horde
Publication: Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1931. First Edition.
Notes: A very scarce work of historical fiction in what would now be considered the young adult (YA) genre. In this story a Christian crusader battling the Arabs finds the sacred sword Durandal, which had belonged to the French knight Roland.
According to Clute and Grant's Encyclopedia of Fantasy, the author was an influence on Robert E. Howard. Donald Grant planned to reissue this book as a trilogy, as it originally appeared in Adventure magazine, but only the first two parts were completed.
xii, 371, [blank] pages. Inserted three-color frontispiece. Map endpapers.
Edition + Condition: First edition (stated). A very good copy in a very good dust jacket that is tanned at the spine, with light edge wear.
This copy was part of the James Strand collection, which was stolen in 2023 in what was one of the biggest book thefts in US history. The FBI recovered this book during their investigation and returned it to the Strand family. With Strand's estate bookplate on the front pastedown; the original FBI evidence tag is laid in.
Item No: #365752
Price: $850