Virginia Swain

?: $25 for a Title [The Hollow Skin]

New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1937. Very Good +. Item #47356

New York: Farrar & Rinehart, [1937]. Advance Review Copy. Octavo (19.5cm); publisher's pictorial card wrappers, French flaps; 275pp. Light edge wear, textblock uniformly toned, else a Very Good or better example. No title page as issued.

Rare Advance Review Copy for the author's horror novel set in the Bahamas, employing an unusual marketing campaign calling for title submissions "by anyone connected with the retail book business." Submissions were to be made before January 10, 1938, and the prize of $25 would be awarded "whether or not the winning title is used for the book."

The book in question was eventually released as The Hollow Skin, an atmospheric horror story. One enthusiastic contemporary reviewer describes the experience of reading it as, "you get to a certain point--and then--ooh my goodness--there you are right on the edge of your chair afraid to turn loose and yet fascinated by the unnatural atmosphere of voodoo and shrieks in the dark," (The Macon Telegraph, March 15, 1938).

One example of this advance review copy in OCLC as of March, 2026, at U. Michigan.

Price: $1,250.00