Marguerite de Navarre, Louise Labé, Mesdames de Sévigné, Lafayette et de Stael, Sand, Colette, Nemirovsky, Beauvoir, Duras, Yourcenar, Sarraute... Women have left their mark on the history of literature, which has not always done them justice...
First edition, rare, published in the Complete Works of George Sand by Bonnaire. The half-title indicates volume XXIV.
Modern half black straight-grained morocco binding with small corners signed René Aussourd at the top of the endpaper. Jansenist spine with raised bands. Title, author and date gilt. Covers preserved. Upper right corner of the front cover lacking (0.5cm). Light rubbing to boards. Very handsome copy with perfectly fresh uncut paper.
Ex libris Paola Sanjust.
Dialogue novel featuring a young Italian noblewoman during the Renaissance, raised as a man for succession reasons. Gabriel will be confronted with the hypocrisy of society and rebels against the abyssal difference between the rights granted to men and the oppression reserved for women. The author analyzes with irony the differences in education between girls and boys. Balzac, enthusiastic upon reading the work, did not hesitate to compare it to a Shakespeare play.
First edition of the theatrical adaptation.
Bound in half red shagreen, spine in four compartments set with gilt stipples adorned with double gilt spine panels, marbled paper plates, marbled endpapers, contemporary binding.
Precious handwritten presentation signed by George Sand: “à monsieur Huart en lui demandant pardon de tout le mal que je lui donne.” “To Mr Huart asking for his forgiveness for all the harm I am causing him.”
Provenance: from the Grandsire library with its ex-libris.
Very rare and sought-after first edition of one of the most important autobiographical works in the history of French literature, masterpiece and major work by George Sand.
Beige half sheepskin bindings, spine with four raised bands gilt tooled and framed in gilt and black, gilt tooling at top and bottom of spines, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved for each of the volumes, elegant imitation bindings.
Provenance: Pierre Boutellier, with his ex-libris on the front pastedown of the first volume.
Presentation copy signed by George Sand to his great friend the poet Maurice Rollinat, on the half-title of the first volume.
Pleasant and extremely rare copy, exceptionally containing a signed inscription by George Sand, almost free of any foxing and housed in uniform romantic style bindings.
First edition, rare. As the foreword recalls, this short story by Madame de Genlis had originally appeared in the Bibliothèque des romans, volume V.
Contemporary full brown grained sheep binding. Smooth spine with 4 dots and fillets. Black calf title-label. One tear with small loss to upper cover. One corner slightly bumped. Fine copy, fresh. At end: Work by Madame de Genlis sold by the same bookseller.
The forgotten masterpiece of the Comtesse de Genlis, a short story with classical writing that responds so well to the writing precept she established: "clarity, naturalness, purity, elegance are the indispensable marks of good style", and to her conception of the short story: "in this last work everything must move toward the goal with rapidity, or everything must relate to it." Mademoiselle de Clermont recounts the authentic passion of young Marie-Anne de Bourbon-Condé, princess of the blood, for a duke whom her social rank forbids her to marry. In this true story reported to the author, no facility such as love at first sight, the outpouring of amorous language. The short story is brief, effective, stripped of all artifice. "Mme de Genlis the narrator constructs narrative structures where, through a subtle interplay between the time of telling and the time of what is told, narration in the past and commentary in the present succeed each other; frame narrative and embedded narrative. Amel ben Amor, Doctoral thesis in French Languages and Literatures." 18th Century Literature
The rare first French edition, translated by Jean-Baptiste Robinet, after the first English edition published in 1769. Four attractive separate engraved title pages. Changuion catalogue at the end of the third part. The edition shared in Paris with Le Jay appeared a few months later and does not have engraved titles.
Contemporary binding in full marbled brown sheep. Decorated raised-band spine. Beige morocco title label, tobacco morocco volume label. Triple fillet frame on boards. Loss to lower joint at foot of volume I. 3 corners bumped. Handsome copy, fresh overall.
Epistolary novel set in Canada. "The romantic customs of Canada and the manners of its inhabitants are described in this novel with great truth," Revue des Romans (1839). Frances Brooke (1724-1789), English woman of letters, lived in Canada where she had married an Anglican minister. A lieutenant goes to French Canada with the aim of establishing a settlement, and resides in Quebec, Montreal (of which he gives extensive descriptions). The lieutenant undertakes certain journeys in Canada, to New York, and shares his political reflections on the necessity of uniting the French and English, on the customs of the Hurons, etc. Very interesting novel about Canada around 1765 and the different colonies (definitive cession of French Canada to England in 1763).
First edition, one of 30 numbered copies on pur fil paper, this copy one of 10 hors commerce, the only grand papier (deluxe) copies.
A nice copy despite the very slightly sunned spine.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Marguerite Yourcenar to Maurice Bourdel, director of publishing house Plon, and his wife : "... cette Electre perdue dans "un monde où l'ordre n'est pas"
