The Black Rose by Thomas B. Costain (Tandem, 1971)

Walter of Gurnie, bastard son of the Earl of Lessford, fled from England to escape the enmity of his family and the bitterness of his love for the Lady Engaine.  Wealth and fame and a chance to claim the woman he loved were to be found only in the fabulous realms of the East, if he could win through the savage hordes of Kublai Khan's Mongol warriors, who ruled all of Asia from Persia to the ocean of Cathay.

Joining a caravan under the protection of Bayan of the Hundred Eyes, Walter found Maryam, a beauty as rare as the priceless Black Rose of the spice traders, destined for the Great Khan's harem, and a stronger reason than any other to lead him to the Celestial City of the Manji Emperor.

How Walter followed Maryam to fabled Kinsai, lost her and found her again, makes a superb and stirring romance, filled with the vivid colour and adventure of medieval England and the age-old empires of the East.

 And that just about sums up the entire book... so there's no need to read it.

(I do, however, love the 1970s hairstyles the models are sporting on the cover.  It seems that Vidal Sassoon was hairdresser of choice for the Mongol Hordes!)

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. No. 6 - The Dagger Affair by David McDaniel (Four Square, 1965)

 

"Tell us all about Dagger!"

This was the order threw at Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin.  And from each U.N.C.L.E.  agent came the same answer: 'We know absolutely nothing of DAGGER.' 

'You appear to be telling the truth,' said a hidden voice.  'A pity...'

But it was more than merely unfortunate that the U.N.C.L.E. organization had never heard of DAGGER--for the secret behind that name was an insane plot for mass murder of the human race!

Often regarded as the best of the tie-in novels based on the 60s TV series, The Dagger Affair is a fun read.  Good guys must unite with bad guys to defeat a common enemy.  Of course, the bad guys remaining bad guys (be they never so entertaining) the truce comes to an end once the common enemy is defeated.

This is the book, incidentally, where evil organization "THRUSH" gets a fuller form of its name: The Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity!

Cleopatra by Carlo Maria Franzero (Panther, 1962)

 

TEMPTRESS!

'A gift, Great Caesar,' the big man said, prostrating himself, 'from a devoted admirer.'

'H'm,' Caesar murmured, fingering his chin.  'You can't mean Ptolemy...!'  

'Judge for yourself, Master,' Appollodras invited, and unrolled the carpet; out of it sprang to her feet the little Cleopatra, apparently as fresh as a daisy and as bright as a newly minted coin.  She stretched her slim, shapely arms above her lovely head, arched her perfect back so that her perfect young body stood out deliciously under the translucent gown, and smiled provocatively at the mighty Caesar.

An Elizabeth Taylor lookalike poses on the cover of this book--not inappropriately, as Joseph L. Mankiewicz loosely based his 1963 movie version of Cleopatra on this novel.  However, at the time this paperback edition was published the movie was still in production--running grossly over-budget and mired in production problems. 

Sadly, anyone expecting "wantonness" in this version of Cleopatra's story (as promised by the cover blurb on the paperback) will be disappointed.  The titillation value of this book is low, even by the standards of the early 1960s.  You might pick up some history, however, as the main characters spend a lot of time playing politics, 1st Century BC style.

 

Flying Saucers from Outer Space by Donald E. Keyhoe (Arrow Books, around 1956)

 Found in a dusty corner of the Green Shed:

... And it has a wraparound cover.  Oh what the heck--let's see it in all its glory!

Do you believe that flying saucers emanate from another planet?  Or are you a confirmed sceptic?  Whatever your views this book will give a great deal of authoritative information about the most epoch-making phenomena of our time.

Here are investigations, reports, data and explanations from absolutely reliable sources, all rigidly and scientifically checked and verified.  The revelations in this book will startle you.  They will also fascinate you, and when you have read to the end you will be prepared for the final act of the saucer drama--an act that will have an impact on the lives of every person living on the Earth!

There's no date on this book, but research indicates that this was published some time between 1953 (when the first hardcover was released) and 1956.

This is the great-granddaddy of all the UFO conspiracy theories.  The author begins with accounts of pilots seeing things while in flight, continues with speculations about a government coverup, and concludes with a theory that we are being visited by aliens from outer space!

If I had to speculate and formulate a theory, I would say it is no coincidence that the first flying saucers were sighted in 1947, right at the beginning of the Cold War and the atomic age.  If Reds were under the beds, why not alien spaceships in the sky?   Keyhoe was one of the earliest writers about the phenomenon, producing a booked called "Flying Saucers Are Real" in 1950.  This is its followup. 

The Lion of Sparta by John Burke (Pan, 1961)

Another find in the dusty recesses of the Green Shed:

BARBARIC
SPLENDOUR

ELEMENTAL
SAVAGERY

SUPERB
HEROISM

The countless hordes of Asia surged onwards towards Greece--an irresistible wave spreading  fire, pillage and rapine.  Xerxes, King of Persia, had sworn to annihilate the Greek States.

But at Thermopylae waited Leonidas, King of Sparta--blocking the narrow pass with his immortal Three Hundred.

These were no ordinary men.  For Spartans there was no retreat, no surrender.  Their highest hope a glorious death.

This is the story of those men--and their women--and of the days which led them to Thermopylae, that desperate, glorious battle which changed the course of history.

"As filmed by 20th Century Fox starring Richard Egan"... another long-forgotten CinemaScope epic, starring an actor I've never heard of.  And yet, strangely enough, Ralph Richardson appears in a supporting role!

Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie (Fontana, 1962)

One more from the Lifeline Bookfair!

 

Sir Charles Cartwright, the distinguished actor, had invited the local vicar and his wife to a house-warming party  at his new country cottage.  The Reverend Stephen Babbington unaccustomed as he was to strong liquor, nervously sipped his cocktail with a slightly wry expression on his face.  The other guests continued to chatter.  Suddenly Mr Babbington's hand clutched at his throat, and, in a moment, he collapsed--dead.

This was only the first act in the drama--a three-act tragedy, with a mysterious death in every act.  It is Hercule Poirot, the indomitable Belgian detective, who moves behind the scenes of this play and who finally rings down the curtain.

 The man on the cover of this book is either dead drunk--or just dead!  Since the author is Agatha Christie, I'm guessing the latter.

(See also my post on the 1964 Pan edition of the same title.)

What Happened to the Corbetts by Nevil Shute (Pan, 1970)

 

When war came to Southampton, no one expected it to be like this - least of all the Corbetts.  Their home a ruin without gas, electricity or water, no milk for the baby, typhoid and cholera a daily threat, and bombs from the sky a nightly terror.

In a desperate attempt to save their children, Joan and Peter begin a heart-stirring journey that exchanges the dangers on land for the darkness and waste of the sea...

Written in 1938, this moving and dramatic novel of simple heroism shows a master storyteller and modern prophet at his irresistible best.

This is an oddity--a "future war" story about the Second World War... published a year before the actual war began.  So it's interesting to read this in hindsight and compare it with real life events--which were both better and worse than depicted here.  Better, because British civilians were better prepared for the Blitz and subsequent upheavals when the bombing eventually began.  Worse, because the author clearly didn't imagine how ruthless the Nazis would be and how quickly they'd steamroller over Europe.  (It's quite clear from the text that Europe is not under enemy occupation when the attack on Britain begins.)

One last really strange thing to note--though it's quite clear who the author sees as "the enemy" in this book, they are never named!