Best of
Abandoned

1939

Fun with a Pencil


Andrew Loomis - 1939
    His first book, Fun With a Pencil, published in 1939 is a wonderfully crafted and engaging introduction to drawing, cartooning, and capturing the essence of a subject all while having fun. With delightful step-by-step instruction from Professor Blook, Loomis's charming alter ego on the page.

Lark Rise to Candleford


Flora Thompson - 1939
    This story of three closely related Oxfordshire communities - a hamlet, the nearby village and a small market town - is based on the author's experiences during childhood and youth. It chronicles May Day celebrations and forgotten children's games, the daily lives of farmworkers and craftsmen, friends and relations - all painted with a gaiety and freshness of observation that make this trilogy an evocative and sensitive memorial to Victorian rural England.With a new introduction by Richard Mabey

The Blonde Hurricane


Jenő Rejtő - 1939
    HUNGARY LITERARY FOLKLORE.

Here Lies: The Collected Stories of Dorothy Parker


Dorothy Parker - 1939
    From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the infamous Hollywood blacklist. Parker went through three marriages (two to the same man) and survived several suicide attempts, but grew increasingly dependent on alcohol. Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker". Nevertheless, her literary output and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.

The World is Round


Gertrude Stein - 1939
    An alternate-cover edition for ISBN 9781569579053 can be seen here: The World is Round Based on the imagined adventures of a young neighbor in the French farming community of Bilignin, this book tells the story of Rose, a little girl determined to find her place in the world.

Cautionary Verses


Hilaire Belloc - 1939
    All the seven original books are here reprinted together, with all the original edifying illustrations by B.T.B. and Nicolas Bentley. The original square album format has been retained. The world will be undeniably a worse place when Freud supersedes Belloc, and children and their maladjusted parents are no longer brought up on these moral rhymes. The publishers therefore dare to hope that common sense may prevail and this collected volume remain a standard article of British nursery furniture for hundreds of years to come.

The Gentleman's Companion (Volumes 1 and 2)


Charles H. Baker Jr. - 1939
    As much a travel log to exotic places as it is a cookbook.

The Theory of Idle Resources


W.H. Hutt - 1939
    

The New Adventures of Ellery Queen


Ellery Queen - 1939
    Then in the twinkling of an eye, goes its rich and eldely owner. and, for the grand finale, both reappear--each as dead as the other.TRICK II--From the House of Darkness issues more bafflement. In total darkness and from a distance of twelve feet, four bullets are pumped within an inch of each other into a spectator's back. A feat utterly impossible to perform--yet brazenly and undeniably done.TRICK III-- The piece de resistance. This time it's an entire house, a real house, a solid house which Ellery Queen had been in only the day before...vanished from the face of the earth. And in its place, one of the most incredible conundrums ever to face the master crime solver.* The Lamp of God (Detective Story, October 1935 as House of Haunts)* ...The Treasure Hunt (Detective Story, 1935)* ...The Hollow Dragon (Redbook, December 1936)* ...The House of Darkness (The American Magazine, February 1935)* ...The Bleeding Portrait (original title: "The Gramatan Mystery"* Man Bites Dog (Blue Book, June, 1939)* Long Shot (Blue Book, September 1939)* Mind Over Matter (Blue Book, October 1939)* The Trojan Horse (Blue Book, December 1939)