Lady
From Lust Checklist
One
time, at a book show, I overheard two book dealers arguing (imagine
that). They were fighting about a LADY FROM LUST book called THE
HOT MAHATMA. One of them claimed to have a copy at home, and he
was sure it was #5 in the series. The other dealer was equally adamant
that he had THE HOT MAHATMA, but it was #8. When I started looking
for LADY FROM LUST paperbacks to see which ones had Rader covers,
a dealer sold me a 1973 edition of LAY ME ODDS, which he assured
me was the second printing. Then I found a 1967 edition and a 1970
printing. Wouldnt that make the 1973 book a 3rd? I was not
alone in my confusion about the convoluted history of this series.
But the solution proved simple: the books were published in sequential
numbering, books got reprinted when the prices went up, and some
books got retitled when a different set of editors reprinted the
series. The original 1967-1969 books were published by Midwood-Tower,
with covers on the first books by Paul Rader. When Tower became
Belmont Tower in 1970, a new group of editors took over. In 1973,
when Belmont reprinted the set at 95c, they changed series numbers
on some of the books, and changed a couple titles too. Somebody
at Belmont decided that calling the first book in the series by
the same name as the entire series was confusing, so they changed
THE LADY FROM LUST to LUST BE A LADY TONIGHT. The folks at Midwood-Tower
thought THE POISONED PUSSY was a cute title, the folks at Belmont
felt differently about it, so they retitled it SOCK IT TO ME. Also
when Belmont took over they reprinted the first four books in the
series only because the original books had been priced 60c each,
and they wanted to sell them at 95c. . In 1975 they brought out
a 7 volume NEW LADY FROM LUST set.
THE
LADY FROM LUST was one of the countless James Bond spoofs of the
1960s, about Agent Oh Oh Sex, Eve Drum of L.U.S.T, (League of
Undercover Spies and Terrorists). There were 18 books in the first
set, all written by Rod Gray. Gray was one of the pen names of
Gardner Fox, who wrote many other paperbacks under many other
names, including the CHERRY DELIGHT series, a set exactly like
THE LADY FROM LUST but for a different publisher. I always heard
Gardner Fox wrote all of these himself, but a book dealer friend
has suggested to me that Rod Gray was a house name, started by
Gardner Fox but continued by other writers.
First
set (1967-1972) 60c, 75c, 95c
1. THE LADY FROM LUST Tower 43-804, 1967. Rader cover.
60c
2. LAY ME ODDS Tower 43-860, Rader cover
3. THE 69 PLEASURES Tower 43-912, Rader cover
4. 5 BEDS TO MECCA Tower 43-944, Rader cover
5. THE HOT MAHATMA Tower 44-989, 1968. Rader cover, 75c
6. TO RUSSIA WITH LUST Tower 44-126, Rader cover
7. KISS MY ASSASSIN Tower 44-160, Rader cover
8. SOUTH OF THE BORDELLO Tower 44-171, 1969. Rader cover
9. THE POISONED PUSSY Tower 45-212, 95c, Rader cover
(Rader leaves Midwood-Tower, 1969)
10. THE BIG SNATCH Tower 45-276, artist unknown
11. LADY IN HEAT Tower 45-299, artist unknown
12. LAID IN THE FUTURE Tower T-095-1, artist unknown.
13. BLOW MY MIND Tower T-095-3, 1970. Artist unknown.
14. THE COPULATION EXPLOSION Belmont B95-2008, photo coverr
(1. LUST, BE A LADY TONIGHT Belmont B95-2020, photo cover.
2nd of THE LADY FROM LUST, with new title and 95c price.
(2. LAY ME ODDS Belmont B95-2026 Belmont B95-2026,
2nd printing, photo covers recreates Rader art.
(3. THE 69 PLEASURES Belmont B95-2043, 2nd printing, photo
cover recreates Rader art.
(4. 5 BEDS TO MECCA Belmont B95-2052, 2nd printing, photo
cover recreates Rader art.
15. EASY RIDE Belmont B95-2076, photo cover
16. THE LADY TAKES IT ALL OFF Belmont B95-2114, 1971, photo
cover
17. TURNED ON TO LUST Belmont B95-2170, photo cover
18. SKIN GAME DAME Belmont-Tower BT 50214, 1972, photo
cover
Second set, 1973-74, 95c (2nd printings unless noted)
1. LUST, BE A LADY TONIGHT Belmont Tower BT 50516, 3rd
printing of THE LADY FROM LUST, 1973, artist unknown
2.
LAY ME ODDS BT 50542, 3rd pr, artist unknown
3.
THE 69 PLEASURES BT 50559, 3rd pr, artist unknown
4.
5 BEDS TO MECCA BT 50566, 3rd pr, artist unknown
5.
SOUTH OF THE BORDELLO BT 50582, artist unknown
(This
was #8 in the first set. The first 5 books in the second set are
not identified by a set number on the cover. Numbering begins
with #6)
6.
KISS MY ASSASSIN BT 50594, artist unknown, #7 in the first
set
7.
SOCK IT TO ME BT 50604, reprints #9, THE POISONED PUSSY,
with new title. Reworks Rader art.
8.
THE HOT MAHATMA BT 50617, #5 in the first set, reworks
Rader art.
9.
TO RUSSIA WITH LUST BT 50628, #6 in the first set, reworks
Rader art.
10.
THE LADY TAKES IT ALL OFF BT 50636, 1974, #16 in the first
set, artist unknown
11.
LADY IN HEAT BT 50649, photo cover
12.
BLOW MY MIND BT 50660, #13 in the first set, photo cover
13.
LAID IN THE FUTURE BT 50667, #12 in the first set, photo
14.
THE COPULATION EXPLOSION BT 50678, new photo cover
15.
TURNED ON TO LUST BT 50692, #17 in the first set, new photo
cover
16.
THE BIG SNATCH BT 50710, #10 in the first set, photo cover
17.
EASY RIDE BT 50727, #15 in the first set, new photo cover
18.
SKIN GAME DAME BT 50742, new photo cover.
THE NEW LADY FROM LUST, 1975, $1.25, photo covers
1.
GO FOR BROKE BT 50777
2.
HAVE A SNORT! BT 50794
3. TARGET FOR TONIGHT BT 50805
4.
THE MARACAIBO AFFAIR BT 50814
5.
VOODOO KILL BT 50829
6.
THE LADY KILLER BT 50838
7.
KILL HER WITH LOVE BT 50858
1. THE LADY FROM LUST BT 51102, no date. 4th printing restores
original title with new cover painting by unknown artist.
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THE
LADY FROM L.U.S.T.
<LAY
ME ODDS, Belmont B95-2026. 2nd printing. Compare cover photo
with Rader art. See Tower 43-860.
5
BEDS TO MECCA, Belmont B95-2052, 2nd pr. Compare photo with
Rader art on Tower 43-944. >
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<
THE BIG SNATCH, Tower 45-276. Artist unknown. First set #10.
THE
BIG SNATCH Belmont Tower BT 50710.
Photo.
Second set #16. >
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<LAID
IN THE FUTURE, Tower T-095-1. Artist unknown. Sci-fi
becomes sigh-sigh.
THE
LADY FROM LUST BT 51102, 4th printing, no date, artist
unknown. >
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