John Slate [John Russell Fearn] — Thy Arm Alone

London, Rich and Cowan , 1947 . First edition. Cloth. An uncommon, first edition of the fourth novel to feature headmistress detective Miss Maria Black, written by John Slate. The first edition. Dated using Jisc from a copy held at the British Library. With the original, unclipped dust wrapper. Written by British author John Russell Fearn, who wrote this novel under the pseudonym John Slate. Fearn was known for his multitude of pen-names, being a prolific writer of crime fiction and Westerns, as well as science-fiction. 'Thy Arm Alone' is the fourth 'Black Maria Adventure Novel', being the fourth installment to feature amateur detective and Girls' School Headmistress, Miss Maria Black. In this particular adventure, Maria and Inspector Morgan attempt to track down the murderer of Herbert Pollitt, one of the three young men who have fallen for the charms of the lovely Betty Shapely. Bound in the publisher's cloth with the original, unclipped dust wrapper. Externally, excellent, with light bumping to the extremities and a little fading to the spine. Dust wrapper is generally smart, with light chipping to the extremities and slight loss to the head and tail of the spine. Tide mark with ink running to the rear wrap. Light marking to the wrap with scattered spots to the verso. Internally, firmly bound. Pages bright and clean. Very Good Indeed . Ill.: None. Very Good Indeed/Very Good.