This Just In...

... and arriving in bookstores: The Crime on Cote De Neiges by David Montrose. First published by Collins White Circle in 1951, it wasn't the first Montreal pulp noir (that would be Ted Allan's 1949 Love is a Long Shot) or the most famous (Brian Moore's Wreath for a Redhead), but it is better than both novels.

Chandleresque, says a friend.

The first book in the new Véhicule Press Ricochet Books series, I was honoured to have been asked to write the Foreword. Back then – August – you couldn't buy a copy of this 59-year-old pulp. A few have since turned up. All from the same Winnipeg vendor, they go for US$33 to US$59. "EXTREMELY RARE Number in the Canadian Collins WHITE CIRCLE Series; VERY RARE Title by this Author," he says. I agree, adding: EXTREMELY FRAGILE. By all means, purchase the first (while you can), but give a thought to Véhicule's C$12, acid-free edition.

Besides, it has that Foreword.

Limited Time, Limited Editions (4/6)

As for Me and My House

Sinclair Ross

Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1994

"This is an edition of 250 signed and numbered copies, of which the first 25 copies have been presented to the author."

The rise of As for Me and My House from forgotten to canonical is as curious as it is controversial. First published in 1941 by New York's Reynal & Hitchcock, the novel was all but ignored by critics and book-buyers, yet there it was sixteen years later as title #4 in the fledgling New Canadian Library. The novel has been a part of the series ever since; "a landmark work... essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand the scope and power of the Canadian novel," says current cover copy. I won't disagree, but do wonder as to its place. How is it possible that sixteen years after publication, fourteen years after the author's death, Fifth House has yet to run through the 225 copies for sale? Evidence of a disconnect between the academic's canon and the public's classic, or just another sad reflection of the deflated market for things CanLit?

A bit of both, I think.

Ross was eighty-six and suffering from Parkinson's when he signed the sheets used in this limited edition. Copies can be purchased directly from the publisher.

Addendum: In her Twayne study of Ross, Lorraine McMullen tells us that just a few copies of the 1941 Reynal & Hitchcock edition were imported into Canada. One ended up in Bayfield Public Library, was discarded and, finally, rescued from a leaky, mice-infested barn by yours truly. The "Date Due" slip indicates that it was only once ever checked out of the library.

The Talented Mr. Orenstein

Something for Saturday. Over at Fly-by-night, dedicated researcher Bowdler uncovers two illustrations by the late director Leo Orenstein, author of The Queers of New York. Good fun!