Arthur Upfield. Beach of Atonement

Today's book is from down under and foolishly uncommon, I have never had one, although a pal (runner, book scout, rock legend and boulevardier Martin Stone) had one for about 2 hours sans d/w back in early 1980s as I dimly recall...

Arthur Upfield. THE BEACH OF ATONEMENT.Hutchinson, London 1930.

FICTION/ MYSTERY /ROMANCE
Australian fiction - a psychological, romantic thriller not featuring his usual character Inspector Bonaparte. Rarer and more desirable than his first book published in 1928 'House of Cain.' Someone must have seen it in d/w because it is known to be by Robb and it should have 7/6 on the spine. Even the National Library of Australia's copy has been stolen. This is always an indication that a book is going to be bloody hard to find.

VALUE? I dread to think what this is worth in d/w -- there are people willing to pay over 200 quid for a facsimile. See this piece found on a fan's website--" Any Upfield fans wanting to read AWU's scarcest novel, The Beach of Atonement, will be interested to know that you may purchase a photocopy of the complete text of the 1930 Hutchinson, London original from The British Library, London, England. The cost is GBP £38.00 for photocopying plus £145.00 copyright fee plus17.5% VAT (=Total Cost £215.03). You can potentially do this with almost any book, the bloke goes on ;" To avail yourself of this facility, visit www.bl.uk. Go to The British Library Public Catalogue where you will find the book listed. The shelfmark number is NN.16529." There is a discernible movement to get the book reprinted much resisted by the Upfield estate. No copies of any edition currently available, stunningly hard to find. I want it.

THE ODDS? £4000? / $7500 Want Level 30-50 Highish