Go to any book fair, especially one devoted to crime stories, and there will be dealers stocking some of the many thrillers published in distinctive yellow dustwrappers by the publisher Victor Gollancz.
Gollancz established his own imprint in 1928 after working for another publisher. Something of a pacifist and a political propagandist for leftish causes, he founded the Left Book Club. But it was with his flair for picking future stars from a host of unknown writers, with his books' distinctive livery and with his lavish literary parties that the success of Gollancz's publishing business was built.
Some authors who subsequently became big sellers had their first few books published by Gollancz. Examples include George Orwell and Kingsley Amis, whose Lucky Jim is an iconic Gollancz title. In the thriller genre, the best known are perhaps Dorothy L. Sayers and Daphne du Maurier. The latter's books Rebecca and Jamaica Inn were published by Gollancz, as were John Le Carré's first few books. Gollancz also published the Wycliffe novels of W.J. Burley, some of which were subsequently turned into a TV series.
The critic and book collector John Baxter, whose book A Pound of Paper (Doubleday) is a must for novice book collectors, says: “The primary appeal of Gollancz thrillers is the weirdness and eccentricity of the editorial choices. For every Dorothy L. Sayers and J.I.M. Stewart, there were a score of John Franklin Bardins or Lionel Davidsons who, if they ever succeeded, did so much later, by which time they had moved to publishers with deeper pockets.”
True first editions of Gollancz books are very hard to come by. The company typically had a very small initial print run but then, if interest appeared to be high, would reprint the book quickly, often before the official publication date.
Paper and binding, especially for detective and science fiction novels, were not of particularly high quality. Baxter observes: “Gollancz books age poorly. The blue and red cloth covers are highly susceptible to sunlight while the flimsy custard yellow dustwrappers, as well as being very prone to tear, seem to exercise an almost magnetic attraction for dust.”
The result is that finding a mint copy in its dustwrapper of any collectable Gollancz title is close to impossible. A good first edition ofLe Carré's first book, Callfor the Dead, might cost about £7,000 while his second novel, A Murder of Quality, is so scarce in its dustwrapper that even a “poor” copy might cost as much as £2,500 from a dealer. A good copy of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold would set you back £800.
