Jacques de VARENNE
Memoires du chevalier de Ravanne, page de son altesse le Duc regent
S. n.|à Londres [London] 1751|8 x 14.50 cm|relié
Second edition, the original having been published in Liège in 1740.
Contemporary full marbled sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title label and black morocco volume label. Upper joint cracked. Headcaps worn with lacks to upper joints, except at foot of volume II. 4 corners bumped.
Extract from the last chapter: "J'ai cru tenir la fortune entre mes mains, je m'en félicitais ; & du même coup d'oeil je l'ai vue s'envoler d'une aile rapide, comme un moineau qui s'échappe des mains d'un enfant qui n'a pas l'avisement de le retenir. Ma vie n'est plus qu'untissus de chagrin & de peine ; assorti du regret amer du passé, & d'une desespérante incertitude de l'avenir." ["I thought I held fortune in my hands, I congratulated myself; and with the same glance I saw it fly away on rapid wing, like a sparrow escaping from the hands of a child who has not the wisdom to hold it. My life is now nothing but a fabric of sorrow and pain; matched with bitter regret of the past, and a despairing uncertainty of the future."] Libertine novel in the first person which describes the rise of a brilliant young man under the regency, his love of women... This novel was very successful and was published until the 19th century.
Contemporary full marbled sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated. Red morocco title label and black morocco volume label. Upper joint cracked. Headcaps worn with lacks to upper joints, except at foot of volume II. 4 corners bumped.
Extract from the last chapter: "J'ai cru tenir la fortune entre mes mains, je m'en félicitais ; & du même coup d'oeil je l'ai vue s'envoler d'une aile rapide, comme un moineau qui s'échappe des mains d'un enfant qui n'a pas l'avisement de le retenir. Ma vie n'est plus qu'untissus de chagrin & de peine ; assorti du regret amer du passé, & d'une desespérante incertitude de l'avenir." ["I thought I held fortune in my hands, I congratulated myself; and with the same glance I saw it fly away on rapid wing, like a sparrow escaping from the hands of a child who has not the wisdom to hold it. My life is now nothing but a fabric of sorrow and pain; matched with bitter regret of the past, and a despairing uncertainty of the future."] Libertine novel in the first person which describes the rise of a brilliant young man under the regency, his love of women... This novel was very successful and was published until the 19th century.
€300