The Century Hutchinson Editions

The year is 1988.

Hutchinson's alchemist, Dennis Wheatley, was no more.  His first editions, with their countless reprints; the enormous success of the Arrow paperbacks; the tremendous impact of the Lymington editions which were snapped up by collectors and the lending libraries of the Commonwealth: this had all but ended, with a couple of minor Hutchinson imprints having a little success with paperback re-issues in the 1980s.

Was this, then, the time for another well-presented hardback series, with the added attraction of forewords by people who had known Wheatley?

Thus started the programme of Century Hutchinson's re-issues of Dennis Wheatley.  It is not recorded how many titles were intended to be re-issued under this programme, but, presumably due to lack of sales, only six titles were ever listed.

The books are certainly well-presented, with new artwork for the dust-jackets.  The bindings are black cloth with gilt lettering to the spines.  But the main attraction has to be the excellent forewords to each title.  What a shame for Wheatley fans that the series faded, for these would make a welcome addition to any collection.

The titles are as follows and the forewords can be viewed by clicking on the cover images: