Sunday, June 15, 2014

Paperback 788: Bell Timson / Marguerite Steen (Perma Books P110)

Paperback 788: Perma Books P110 (1st ptg, 1951)

Title: Bell Timson
Author: Marguerite Steen
Cover artist: Uncredited

Yours for: $7

Perma110

Best things about this cover:

  • She is what I'd call "WASP-hot," though she does look a bit like she's been modeled out of Play-Doh, and those are really more flippers than hands.
  • Something about her dimensions are just … off.
  • This cover does not say "illicit business." It says "some lady, probably a lady named 'Bell Timson'."
  • "The Sun Is My Undoing"—damn, that was gonna be the title of my autobiography! I'll have to go with my second choice, "Beyond the Pale."


Perma110bc

Best things about this back cover:
  • You said it, sister.
  • "Ten years too long" made me legit laugh.
  • If you named your kids Kay and Jo, you could refer them collectively as KayJo. Like, all the time. I would.
  • Who is Bob and how does that relate to Bell's being a (I'm guessing) hooker? I'm really, really hoping that Jo discovers her fiancé once slept with her mom. That would at least be interesting.

Page 123~

"She was supposed to have 'touched pitch' and therefore been contaminated; you know what villagers are." Mr. Somervell laughed shortly.

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]

6 comments:

Random White Guy said...

Something about her dimensions are just ... off.

It's her hips. No normal human being has hips like that.

DemetriosX said...

Also, her breast is too low. Not to mention the very unhealthy color of her skin.

And I would be inclined to reverse KayJo. Not for my kids, because that would be cruel. But I bet her kids deserved it.

clark said...

Here's a "review" of the book that manages to avoid saying a single thing about its plot:
http://www.unz.org/Pub/SaturdayRev-1946sep07-00014a02?View=PDF

Anonymous said...

I think she's an abortionist.

Jean said...

A masseuse? She sends her kids to fancy private schools by being a masseuse? And not even THAT kind? I am dubious.

Also, her spine, hips, and boobs are all weird and off. Playdoh is a good description...

Bram said...

Oooh, but that T and i kerning. Mmm hmmm.