Les princesses Malabares, ou le célibat philosophique

First edition of this work which has also been attributed to Lenglet Dufresnoy and to a certain Quesnel whose name appears in the preface. (Cf Peignot, Dictionnaire des livres condamnés au feu II, p. 53-54.)
Full brown paper boards, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets, black morocco title-label, stains to upper right corner of first cover, contemporary binding.
Some light foxing affecting mainly the first leaves of the volume.
A utopia set in India, narrated by an Indian prince. Hindu women, announces the author, were required to burn themselves after their husband's death. The Malabar princesses found an expedient to this system by marrying as many husbands as possible, compelling each husband to absolute fidelity. Through a description of the customs of the island of Malabar, the author establishes a satirical critique of religious systems, tyrants of mankind. It is a curious account, dealing essentially with relations between men and women. The tale abounds in enigmas and keys (see the table of proper names with the solution to the anagrams) which are not always easy to grasp. The work was condemned to be burned by parliamentary decree of 31 December 1734. Ironic for a book whose opening lines of the preface state that "man naturally throws himself [...] upon everything that is forbidden to him", notably condemned books.