THE COLLECTED WORKS OF AMBROSE BIERCE (COMPLETE TWELVE VOLUME SET)
New York: The Neale Publishing Company, 1909-1912. First Edition. Hardcover. Matching set of twelve volumes: Octavo, 8.7 in. x 6 in. Illustrated with frontis of Bierce in Volume I. Beige cloth boards with Bierce's monogram in oval design in gilt to fronts and gilt title and bandlines to spines. Gilt top edge. Light rubbing to extremities and light sunning to spines; a few corners are gently nudged. Spines and hinges tight. Poem on newsprint - "The Passing of Bierce" by George Sterling - tipped in on front free endpaper of Volume I; otherwise, interiors are unmarked. Very Good. Item #86858
VOLUME 1. Ashes of the beacon. The land beyond the blow. For the Ahkoond. John Smith, liberator. Bits of autobiography -- VOLUME 2. In the midst of life (tale of soldiers and civilians) -- VOLUME 3. Can such things be? The ways of ghosts. Soldier-folk. Some haunted houses -- VOLUME 4. Shapes of clay. Some ante-mortem epitaphs. The scrap heap -- VOLUME 5. Black beetles in amber. The Mummery. On stone -- VOLUME 6. The monk and the hangman's daughter. Fantastic fables. Fables from "Fun." Aesopus emendatus. Old saws with new teeth. Fables in rhyme -- VOLUME 7. The devil's dictionary -- VOLUME 8. Negligible tales. The parenticide club. The fourth estate. The ocean wave. "On with the dance!" Epigrams -- VOLUME 9. Tangential views -- VOLUME 10. The opinionator. The reviewer. The controversialist. The timorous reporter. The March hare -- VOLUME 11. Antepenultimata -- VOLUME 12. In motley: Kings of beasts: Two administrations ; Miscellaneous.
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842 -1914): Known for his satirical wit and sardonic view of human nature, Ambrose Bierce earned the nickname "Bitter Bierce." His mocking cynicism is on full display in The Devil's Dictionary (Volume 7 of this collection), a work that originally appeared under the title The Cynic’s Word Book. This humorous and often strikingly insightful book is always worth a casual visit as he takes his turn handing out striking proclamations about human nature and daily life. As a short story writer, Bierce gave us many treasures, including An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.
In 1913, during the Mexican Revolutionary War, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the conflict. He disappeared without a trace while traveling with rebel troops. It's rumored that he might have been killed by the rebel, Pancho Villa early in 1914, though this remains speculation.
Bierce became one of the most influential writers on the West Coast, working for Hearst's The San Francisco Examiner, starting in 1887 when he published his column called "The Prattle," a searing criticism that embroiled the newspaper in several controversies that Hearst had to smooth over... Along with war and ghost stories, Bierce published several volumes of poetry.
Price: $900.00