Nicolas HEINSIUS
L'avanturier hollandois, ou La vie et les avantures divertissantes d'un Hollandois
Chez les Westein & Smith|à Amsterdam 1729|7.50 x 13.50 cm|2 volumes reliés
Rare first French edition, illustrated with 2 frontispieces (the same repeated) and 12 attractive unsigned figures. Translation by the author himself. The novel was not reprinted until 1801 under another title. Title pages in red and black.
Contemporary full brown grained calf bindings. Raised band spines decorated. Red morocco title labels and tan morocco volume labels. Lacks at head and to upper joint at head of volume II. 5 corners slightly bumped. A slight tear to the last compartment at foot of volume II. Trace of dampstain to upper right corner of several leaves at beginning of volume I. Good copy.
Picaresque novel recounting the vicissitudes of a rogue's existence in service to several masters, bourgeois and noble. Satire is never far away and humor often ribald, painting a biting portrait of contemporary society. The character's incredible adventures unfold between Holland and principally France. The author seems to have read 17th-century Spanish and French picaresque novels, one even recognizes the influence of Don Quixote in the fact that the hero knows love and bravery only through chivalric romances, which leads him into comical situations. As the novel progresses, events become intertwined and characters reappear, thus creating a narrative thread. Nicolas Heinsius is the son of an illustrious lineage of men of letters, Nicolas Heinsius, his father, and Daniel Heinsius, his grandfather. His novel amply deserves to be rediscovered and take its place among the finest examples of picaresque literature.
Contemporary full brown grained calf bindings. Raised band spines decorated. Red morocco title labels and tan morocco volume labels. Lacks at head and to upper joint at head of volume II. 5 corners slightly bumped. A slight tear to the last compartment at foot of volume II. Trace of dampstain to upper right corner of several leaves at beginning of volume I. Good copy.
Picaresque novel recounting the vicissitudes of a rogue's existence in service to several masters, bourgeois and noble. Satire is never far away and humor often ribald, painting a biting portrait of contemporary society. The character's incredible adventures unfold between Holland and principally France. The author seems to have read 17th-century Spanish and French picaresque novels, one even recognizes the influence of Don Quixote in the fact that the hero knows love and bravery only through chivalric romances, which leads him into comical situations. As the novel progresses, events become intertwined and characters reappear, thus creating a narrative thread. Nicolas Heinsius is the son of an illustrious lineage of men of letters, Nicolas Heinsius, his father, and Daniel Heinsius, his grandfather. His novel amply deserves to be rediscovered and take its place among the finest examples of picaresque literature.
€700