Thorold King [Charles Gatchell]
New York: Brentano’s, 1888.

First published in 1886 under the pseudonym Thorold King, a novel of narcotic experience following a young Englishman who travels to Egypt, becomes addicted to hashish, and experiences vivid hallucinations. Gatchell was known for his interest in and personal experimentation with cannabis indica extract. In an 1889 letter (sold at auction by Alex Autographs, 2012), he provided detailed instructions on smoking the resinous extract, stating that in his book “there are many facts and many actual experiences” and that it was “possible for you to repeat everything there described.” This copy, probably the author’s own, with a manuscript note on the title page reading: “Published originally by A. C. McClurg, who sold 3 editions. Then I turned it over to Brentano’s who published and sold 3 more editions. C.” Various advertisements and promotional materials for the book are glued to the pastedowns and endpapers. Among the relatively few 19th-century novels to treat cannabis, marijuana, and hashish in a broadly positive or experiential light.