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]; closed tears at top and bottom edge of dust jacket with a slight loss at bottom of rear wrapper; else very good.
First edition of Sax Rohmer's last novel published before his death.
"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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