Kingdom Lost by Patricia Wentworth first edition 1931

WENTWORTH, Patricia. Kingdom Lost.
 
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1931.
 
First edition. Octavo. Original pale blue cloth lettered in black, in the original pictorial dust wrapper designed by Eugene Hastain. pp. 317. Book excellent, with only slight signs of handling. Dust wrapper rubbed and marked, with a moderate area of loss to the foot of the spine, smaller losses and chipping to the edges and corners, and several short closed tears. Overall a very good copy in a good original dust wrapper.
 
An early novel by Patricia Wentworth, published before the appearance of her long-running Miss Silver series. Kingdom Lost follows Valentine Ryven, who spent years on a remote Pacific island and is unexpectedly brought to England after the death of the elderly Oxford scholar who had raised her. Her return leads to the discovery of a family inheritance, unresolved claims and a locked Edwardian mystery surrounding the Ryven estate.
 
The striking Eugene Hastain wrapper is especially attractive, with its stylised Art Deco design. Early Wentworth dust wrappers are notably scarce, and the survival of most of the wrapper makes this copy collectible. Listed in Hubin.