The Day the World Ended Sax Rohmer 1930 First Edition Hardcover

🔍 The Day the World Ended by Sax Rohmer — 1930 First Edition

*A rare first edition of Sax Rohmer’s supernatural mystery set in the Black Forest of Germany*

**ABOUT THIS BOOK**

Published in 1930 by Cassell & Company, Ltd of London, this is the first edition of Sax Rohmer’s lesser-known venture into supernatural adventure. While Rohmer is best remembered for his Dr. Fu Manchu series, this standalone novel blends mystery, sci-fi, and occult thriller elements that were popular in the interwar period. The book was simultaneously published in London, Toronto, Melbourne and Sydney.

**THE STORY**

Brian Woodville is an adventure journalist who has investigated strange occurrences worldwide, most recently in the deep Amazon. He is assigned to investigate mysterious deaths and reports of giant bats in the Black Forest of Germany, near Baden-Baden. He encounters reticent locals, strange foreigners, and a beautiful Polish noblewoman. A mysterious voice warns him he has only three days to leave — or face peril himself. The novel is structured in two parts: the first follows Woodville’s investigation of supposed vampiric attacks, an abandoned castle, and encounters with an odd American companion and a boisterous Frenchman. The second part takes a dramatic turn toward the apocalyptic.

**COVER AND BINDING**

Dark navy blue cloth binding with gold lettering on the spine. The title page features bold sans-serif typography for the title, with a small black-and-white illustration of an archer figure holding a bow. The facing page is a full-page advertisement listing other Sax Rohmer works, including the Fu Manchu series, The Emperor of America, The Dream Detective, and titles categorized under Stories of Chinatown, Oriental Mystery Stories, and Magic. The table of contents lists 25 chapters numbered in Roman numerals, with titles including “The Devil’s Elbow,” “The Gates of Hell,” “The Will of Anubis,” and “The Hour.”

**WHY IT MATTERS**

– First edition, first printing with “First Published 1930” on the copyright page
– One of Rohmer’s non-Fu Manchu novels, making it harder to find for collectors of his complete works
– Published during Rohmer’s peak period — he was one of the highest-paid authors of the 1920s and 1930s
– Cassell & Company was a major British publisher; their first editions are sought after by collectors
– The novel bridges mystery, supernatural fiction, and early science fiction — a transitional genre work from the interwar era

**FOR COLLECTORS**

A scarce first edition copy of a lesser-known Sax Rohmer novel. Collectors of Rohmer’s complete bibliography will find this particularly hard to locate, as most attention goes to the Fu Manchu series. The navy blue cloth binding with gilt lettering is characteristic of Cassell’s 1930s production.

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CONDITION:

This is a “good plus” vintage cloth wrapped hardcover, published in Great Britain in 1930.

First edition.

The binding and gutters are intact and solid, not cracked or split. Text block is canted such that with the book laying flat on its back cover, the front board and earlier portion of the text block over hangs the back portion of the block and back cover. No writing nor library marks or pockets. Board corners are bumped with cloth worn through to underlying board, most conspicuous at front board upper. Spine head and tail are bumped and show wear on the cloth, with a 1/2″ split along hinge at back spine head. The spine and both boards are relatively uniform all around in color, some light spotting in a few places, the cloth is lifted from underlayment in places, most pronounced along spine..

See accompanying images for full condition details.

Scarce first edition.

Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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