Skip to content

Common or Garden Crime

Pim, Sheila

  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
  • Published: 1945
  • Condition: Very Good
Hodder & Stoughton. London: Hodder and Stoughton Limited, 1945 *The author's scarce first crime novel* 8vo., burgundy coloured cloth with silver sparkles, lettered and lined in silver to upper board and along backstrip with publisher's device to foot; together in the illustrated dustwrapper which sees a skull lurking inside some yellow flowers; pp. [vi], 7-192; a near-fine copy, lightly bumped at spine tips with some tiny spots and marks to endpapers and edges but otherwise clean and bright; the very good dustwrapper with some shelfwear, darkening, and rubbing; nicked with a closed tear (1cm long) to head of spine, and one tiny hole; original and unrestored. First edition, first printing. An interesting first book by this Irish Crime and horticultural writer. Born in Ireland, amateur horticulturalist Shelia Pim (1909-1995) wrote her first book, Getting Better: A Handbook for Convalescents in 1943, after falling ill. Recuperating at home, she began to grow fruit and vegetables in the family's large garden, which gave her a grounding in horticulture. She went on to write for the magazine My Garden, as well as a gardening column for the Irish Times, and alongside the seven crime novels she wrote in her lifetime she also published a more serious undertaking - a biography of the Irish plant collector Augustine Henry - which involved many years of research involving his personal papers. Henry was himself a famed collector of plants, who wrote extensively on the trees of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Following the success of Common or Garden Crime, Pim's first published full-length book, her fictional output focused on a similar theme, and included such titles as Creeping Venom (1946) and The Flowering Shamrock (1949). For her services to the study of horticulture, Pim was awarded a medal of honour by Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland, who also made her a life member. The present work tells the story of a murder by herbs. Setting during the Second World War, the plot revolves around Clonmeen, a village on the outskirts of Dublin, and a neighbour found dead after being poisoned by monkshood. "The place is quiet, not to say dull", the work begins, "but not too quiet for a crime. We are also told that evil began in a garden." Highly sought-after. . Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1945.

Offered by The Plantagenet King

The Plantagenet King

9 Gordon Square
Birchington-on-Sea CT7 9SL
Photo of The Plantagenet King
The Plantagenet King is based in Canterbury in East Kent, England and are sellers of collectable and rare first edition books. We specialise in modern fiction, children's titles and 19th century literature. We welcome direct contact so if you would like to discuss any of our books please send an email to mark.richardson@theplantagenetking.com. Also please feel free to browse through our website: www.theplantagenetking.com.

Terms of Sale for The Plantagenet King

14 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 14 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.