The Dennis Wheatley 'Museum' - Champions of Reincarnation: Dennis Wheatley & Joan Grant

Instant success : Joan Grant publishes 'Winged Pharaoh'

Joan Grant's first and most famous book,
Winged Pharaoh (1937)

The copy Joan and Leslie signed and
presented to Joan's secretary Vera
Sutherland. Vera was later the dedicatee
of 'Scarlet Feather' (1945), and her
sister Iris was Dennis Wheatley's
secretary in World War Two

Click on the images to enlarge

A copy inscribed by the publisher
Arthur Barker, who clearly appreciated
the importance of the book

For a transliteration of the inscription click here

Click on the image to enlarge

'Winged Pharaoh' was published in October 1937, with a printed dedication to 'D.S.', i.e. Daisy Sartorius and the dust jacket drawn by Architect / Egyptological draughtsman Ralf Lavers, whom they had met through the excavations. Lavers was later also to illustrate several of Joan's other books.

The book sold so well that it went into a second and third edition the same month. Fourth, fifth and sixth editions followed in November, December and the following February, and it has seldom been out of print since.

DW helped with the promotion (see the following exhibit), and the book's clarity, charm, simple prose and message of hope struck a chord around the world. It was very well received in America, when Harper published it there later in the year, and the book flew off the shelves to favourable reviews notwithstanding its bulk (it ran to almost four hundred pages) and price of 10/6. This compared to a price tag of 7/6 for Dennis Wheatley's novels at the time (increased to 8/6 shortly thereafter), and 12/6 for his factual book of that year, 'Red Eagle'. 'Winged Pharaoh' was therefore something of a luxury item.

Like Dennis Wheatley four year before, Joan Grant had instantly 'arrived'.

References : Publication history recorded in later editions

Provenance: Private collections