MALDEN, R[ichard] H[enry] (1879-1951). Nine Ghosts. London: Edward Arnold and Co., 1947. 8vo. [1]-132 pp. Publisher's green cloth stamped black; original price-clipped dust jacket. FIRST EDITION, THIRD PRINTING OF MALDEN'S ONLY SUPERNATURAL COLLECTION. 

Malden, a biblical scholar and the Dean of Wells Cathedral, wrote these 9 ghost stories over some 30 years, from 1909 to 1942, in dedication to his friend M.R. James, widely regarded as the master of the genre. "Sufficient time has now elapsed since Dr. James's death to make some attempt to continue the tradition admissible or even welcome to his friends and readers. It is as much that these stories have been collected and revised now..." 

Jacket toned, faded, margins chipped, minor paper loss to spine block, soiling and rubbing throughout, foxing to interior panels. Corners rubbed and bumped, minor fraying. Bookseller's plate to front pastedown, tanning to endpapers, minor foxing to edges. Very good.