Elegant Edward by Edgar Wallace First Edition The Readers Library 1928. A fine copy. No previous owner's marks or inscriptions and contents clean throughout. In a VG+ dust jacket that has no fading or toning.

In this rollicking collection of seven short stories, Edgar Wallace spotlights Elegant Edward, a dapper but disastrously inept London crook whose grand schemes for the perfect crime invariably backfire in spectacular fashion. From a bungled blackmail plot involving a haughty society dame and a forged check that rebounds on his own wallet, to a jewel heist thwarted by a sharp-eyed chambermaid and a con game unraveled by his own overconfidence, Edward's escapades brim with ironic twists and chaotic reversals. Aiding and abetting his folly is the laconic Inspector Manden of Scotland Yard, who shadows the suave swindler with wry amusement. Wallace's zippy prose and knack for punchy dialogue turn each misadventure into a comic thriller, where the "mugs" Edward aims to fleece prove far cannier than the elegant anti-hero.

This anthology is a delight for collectors of Wallace's vast oeuvre, particularly scarce Readers Library first editions with their Art Deco dust jackets capturing Edward's tailored tuxedo and top hat. As a lighter entry amid his thriller canon—echoing Raffles with added farce—it showcases Wallace's pulp prowess in the late 1920s boom. With modest print runs and fragile bindings, it's a whimsical quarry for enthusiasts of gentleman crooks, offering affordable entry into the author's humorous underbelly.