ROHMER, Sax. Emperor Fu Manchu. London: Herbert Jenkins. 1959.
8vo. Original red cloth, spine lettered and blocked in black, publisher's device to rear board in black, with the original pictorial dust jacket; pp. 221, [3]; end and foot of spine a little bumped, extremities of jacket a little worn, some very faint spotting to text block, else near fine.
First edition of Sax Rohmer's last novel published before his death in a near fine dust jacket.
"Disguised as a Chinese fisherman, Tony McKay embarked on his first solo mission as an underground agent. With Fu Manchu spreading the net for his capture and destruction, it proved to be an experience he was never to forget…" (blurb).
Spanning from Fu Manchu's first appearance in 1912, Rohmer authored a series of fourteen novels featuring the Chinese supervillain. Inscrutable and sinister, Fu Manchu orchestrates crimes through his minions and employs arcane methods, including the use of poisonous animals and natural chemical weapons. The character’s immediate success stemmed from his embodiment of "the genre of the 'yellow peril' mystery, which expressed Western fears of the expansion of Asian power and influence" (Britannica). Fu Manchu appeared in several silent and sound films, radio, and comic strips.
Sax Rohmer was the pseudonym of British writer Arthur Henry Ward (1883-1959).
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