New York: George H. Doran, 1926

8vo, pp. 329. Original brown boards, blind stamped to front panel and lettered in gilt to spine. Illustrated dust jacket. Leading and lower edges uncut. Partly unopened. Small bookseller's label to rear pastedown, a near fine copy in a very good dust jacket, printed advertising to the reverse, with a small, unobtrusive close tear to top edge and just the lightest of wear to spine ends.

First edition of the author's first novel: the UK edition appeared the following year.

In his early books, Thomas Burke [1886-1945] chronicled life among the immigrant Chinese community in London's East End. Limehouse Nights (1916) proved hugely popular with early Hollywood: D.W. Griffith based his films Broken Blossoms (1919) and Dream Street (1921) on stories in the book, and Charlie Chaplin used another as the basis for A Dog's Life (1918). This attention boosted Burke's profile in the US so much that this, his first novel, was published there a full year before appearing in the UK.

An attractive, very well preserved copy.