BENOIT (Pierre). The Outskirts of Aden. Novel. Paris: Albin Michel, [1940]. — In-8, 188 x 126: 316 pp., (2 blank folios at the end), printed cover. Light brown half-maroquin with bands, gilt and blind-stamped fillets on the covers, smooth spine adorned with an oriental mosaic design in black, green, red, and white maroquin, gilt head, untrimmed, cover and spine preserved (contemporary binding). First edition. This novel immerses the reader in the exotic atmosphere of the Arabian Peninsula under British rule, where a troupe of French actors, stranded in Aden, finds itself unwittingly caught in the middle of tensions between the British governor and the local sheikh. One of the first copies printed on Japanese paper (No. O). A fine copy in a period mosaic binding. Some rubbing on the spine; a few small light stains on the covers. Provenance: Lucien Blaise, with bookplate. Also included, by the same author: - Fireworks in Zanzibar. Novel. Paris: Albin Michel, [1955]. — In-8, 184 x 123: (2 blank folios), 319 pp., (2 blank folios), printed cover. Blue half-maroquin with corners, decorated ribbed spine, gilt head, untrimmed, cover and spine preserved (Semet and Plumelle). First edition of this adventure novel that begins in Lorraine and ends in Zanzibar. One of the first 60 copies printed on Holland paper (no. LX), beautifully bound by Semet and Plumelle. Spine faded.