Another busy week in the run-up to Christmas here at Rooke Books, and we're adding more exciting things than ever to our library! Amongst our recent acquisitions are a first edition of the rather un-festive 'Silence of the Lambs', as well as 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'. As for our more interesting perks...

Medical Survey of Marshallese Two Years After Exposure to Fallout Radiation

We've recently listed an extremely scarce medical work on radiation poisoning from 1956. This work details the aftereffects of the nuclear testing which occurred between 1946 and 1958 on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The radiation rendered the islands unfit for living, and the residents who thought they were being displaced temporarily were unable to return. A graphic work, this study examines the health of inhabitants two years after a specific round of detonations in 1954, and provides fascinating and horrifying insight into the experimentation and its results. This is a very scarce study.

Bringing Jazz!

A far lighter-hearted work, 'Bringing Jazz!' is a beautiful poetry collection written by Maxwell Bodenheim, a tragic American writer. Bodenheim's poetry was intended to be set to the music of Greenwich Village during its Jazz heyday; his nickname was the King of the Greenwich Village Bohemians. Bodenheim was murdered along with his wife whilst dwelling at a flophouse by a recent acquaintance. After the killer, Weinburg, slept with Bodenheim's wife, Bodenheim challenged him and was shot in the chest; his wife, Ruth, was subsequently stabbed to death. However, despite the tragic end to its writer, the poetry collection is breezy and light, intended to be performed with the smooth sounds of Greenwich Village.

The House of the Wolfings

A first edition of this classic fantasy novel, inspiration behind J. R. R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', has also been added to our collection of late, and you won't believe who wrote it! First published in 1889, this was the brainchild of William Morris, renowned British designer of textiles and an important player in the Arts and Crafts movement. This early fantasy work also contains dwarven characters who function as skilful smiths, as well as Germanic character names including 'Thiodolf' and Old English place names such as 'Mirkwood'. A truly fascinating piece of fantasy history, and a must-read for any Tolkien lovers.

The Story of the Christmas Card

And finally, for something a little more in the spirit of Christmas, we've added a history of the Christmas card to our collection. Dated 1937, it was written by George Buday and is in the publisher's original lovely and bright decorative boards. It also contains many rather interesting illustrations depicting examples of Christmas cards, which date to the nineteenth century. If you like the look of this work, do hurry to make it yours - surely a week before Christmas we can't expect it to hang around!



Our header this week comes from a charming first edition literary criticism of the writings of William Shakespeare, 'Illustrations of Shakspeare and of Ancient Manners' penned by John Douce.

A merry Christmas from all of us here at Rooke Books! We hope you are able to have joyful celebrations and that many a delightful book will be unwrapped! And we'll look forward to bringing you more 'Through the Rooke-ing Glass' in the New Year.