My Fifteen Lost Years Florence Elizabeth Maybrick

[stevievye]

Hi

Im from the UK and this is the first time I have posted a message on here so forgive me if it isnt very professional !

I was wondering if anybody knows anything about this book ? I would like to know just how rare this book is, I keep reading on various sites that it does exist but is described as " extremely rare ".

I would appreciate any information anyone has about it.

Many thanks

Steve

[Sam Flynn]

Hi Steve,

From what I've heard it's rather a dull book, so perhaps its rarity is no bad thing!

Welcome to Casebook, by the way

[Pippin Joan]

My Fifteen Lost Years

Welcome aboard, Steve! I'm pretty new here, too, but it's a great place to learn from those who know a lot more than I do.

I found that this book is available as a Googlebook. Just type in the title and "Maybrick" and it will come up. You can download it to your computer for easy reading. Thanks for letting me find this, too!

[stevievye]

Hiya Joan or Pippin !

Wow that was a quick answer !! Please forgive my slow response as I literally joined this site about 45 mins ago & im trying to get my head around the workings of it !

Are you Joan or Pippin ( I bet you think us Limeys are thick ! ) but Id like to make sure !

Many thanks for your help and information.....the reason I was asking the question is that I have this book here in the UK which appears to be signed by the Author, but I don't know how rare it is ! It wasn't published in this country and was never for sale so I was wondering just how rare it was in the US.

Steve

[stevievye]

Hi Sam

Thanks for the reply, I must admit when I read it I did find it a bit hard going to be honest but i was so interested in the story behind it I forced myself to read it all, it was of course written 100 yrs ago and the way it was written and the words and phrases used at that time made it a bit difficult for me to digest and move on swiftly !

The reason I was asking is that I have this book and if I had a few replies telling me it was rare then i will take it somewhere to get an expert opinion on it as it appears to be signed by the Author.

Purely for insurance purposes of course !

Thanks again Sam

Steve

[Pippin Joan]

Pippin Joan is just a pseudonym for this site. I decided to take on a Whitechapel persona -- My middle name is Joan, which is kind of standard traditional English, and I decided to be a fruit hawker in the Petticoat market. They were famous for their job-related monikers, hence the "pippin".

The Florence Maybrick story is so interesting, even if she didn't write a gripping autobiography. Have you read Death at the Priory by James Ruddick? That's about the Charles Bravo murder, and another case of a wife being at a real disadvantage in the legal system. However, it looks like the wife did it anyway, but the cultural aspects are very interesting. A pretty good read, too. I would have murdered Charles Bravo -- heck, Gandhi would have murdered Charles Bravo.

[stevievye]

Ok from now on its Pippin !!

No I havent read Death at the Priory but I will put it on my list, no he wasnt a nice chap was he !

Ok Cadet Pippin ! on this side of the pond its bed time so ill wish you all a good evening and enjoy your new President !

Best Regards to all.

[Stewart P Evans]

Mrs. Maybrick's Own Story

Hi
Im from the UK and this is the first time I have posted a message on here so forgive me if it isnt very professional !
I was wondering if anybody knows anything about this book ? I would like to know just how rare this book is, I keep reading on various sites that it does exist but is described as " extremely rare ".
I would appreciate any information anyone has about it.
Many thanks
Steve

This book was published as follows -

Mrs. Maybrick's Own Story. My Fifteen Lost Years, by Florence Elizabeth Maybrick, New York & London, Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1905.

Mrs. Maybrick's Own Story. "My Fifteen Lost Years.", by Florence Elizabeth Maybrick, London, C. Arthur Pearson, 1909.

It is is cased in beige/brown boards in the regular edition and there is a de luxe autographed edition, cased in blue cloth with gilt titles.

Although the book is rare it is by no means unobtainable and I have seen a copy appear on ebay, as well as in the catalogues of specialist crime book dealers.

I did have both editions, which I bought some 20 odd years ago (before the 'diary' nonsense) but I sold the regular edition and kept the autographed edition (see below) -





Expect to pay over £50 (50 GBP) for any copy.

[George Hutchinson]

Further to SPE's post above, I've seen three signed copies on eBay over the last five years (although those are ones that would have had JACK THE RIPPER in the banner heading). I am fairly sure they all closed around the £100 - £150 mark but I also suspect they possibly went to buyers who thought they were more scarce than they are.

On the upside, you have no reason to doubt that your signature is authentic.

PHILIP

[stevievye]

Hi Stewart

Many thanks for your reply, I too have the autographed edition and as I type this now there is one for sale on Ebay USA with a buy it now price of $1500 ( £927) which shocked me a bit and made me scout around a bit more.

I went to Bookfinder.com and found 2 more for sale...1 from Amazon for £971.37 and another one from Alibris UK ( USA ) for £1003.71 ! Any idea whats going on ?? Are these people pushing their luck with their prices ? I pai £40 for mine about 5 years ago.

Steve

[stevievye]

George, thankyou for your reply, I have just replied to Stewart with three books that are for sale at the moment ranging from £927 - £1003 ! Can you throw any light on as to why these prices are being asked ??

Do they know something we dont ? I paid £40 for mine.

Steve

[George Hutchinson]

Hi Steve

These are people who clearly know what they have but don't realise what the demand is like for this item (mediocre) and how many copies there are (more than they think). Yes, they're all pushing their luck but there might be someone out there who is gullible enough to pay it.

Books are worth as much as someone is willing to pay for them. It's the same in the world of records as well. I sell 78s and two of the highest prices I ever had paid for a couple of discs were two you'd think would be extremely common as everybody knows the songs by those artists (in these cases, it was Lita Roza's HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW and The Andrews Sisters' BOOGIE WOOGIE BUGLE BOY - the pair went for nearly £140 combined).

Likewise, I see books for sale on Abe with the very same edition and condition ranging between a couple of pounds to fifty or so.

However, there is no doubt that £40 was a steal. Well done you.

PHILIP