The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer (William Heinemann, 1949)

I found this one in an op shop on the outskirts of Melbourne.

"Miss Georgette Heyer's "The Talisman Ring' has the authentic 18th-century atmosphere; with its embroidered waistcoats, jewelled snuff-boxes, lace handkerchiefs, quizzing glasses and what-nots.  But inside her brocade coats and silken breeches she never fails to provide real flesh and blood animated by the ardours and foibles common nature in each and every period . . .  It is indeed compounded of all the time-honoured ingredients--love, adventure, murder, robbery, a missing jewel, and a woman's wit.  Could anyone ask more?"

--John O'London's Weekly.

It's the second printing of the first Australian edition of The Talisman Ring.

—And this book is still in print throughout the English speaking world today.  Unlike most of Georgette Heyer's romance-writing contemporaries, her books continue to sell well.  I suspect her sense of humour is to blame, because underneath the romantic trappings and historical trappings of her plots she never takes her characters too seriously!

The Abbey Girls Win Through by Elsie J. Oxenham (Collins, 1949)

I found this book for girls at a church fundraiser last weekend:

 

First published in 1923, this edition dates to 1949.  It must have been someone's prized possession, because unlike most children's books more than sixty years old it still retains its dust jacket!  Opening it up, my eyes fell on this passage:

Norah and Connie were different.  They were a recognised couple.  Con, who sold gloves in a big West-End establishment, was the wife and homemaker; Norah, the typist, was the husband, who planned little pleasure trips and kept the accounts and took Con to the pictures.

Well, OK.  It was a more innocent age!

(I'm told that because of the shortage of men after World War I, many women banded together for mutual support.  However Norah and Connie are referred to as "husband" and "wife" throughout the book, which is a bit ... disconcerting to a modern person, especially when you consider the intended audience for The Abbey Girls Win Through.)