L'Italie, par Lady Morgan

First edition of the French translation by Mlle Saubry: the first English edition appeared on the same date.
Bradel bindings in full navy blue boards. Smooth spines decorated with fillets, roulette at tail. Gilt titles and volume labels. Spines uniformly darkened. Signs of rubbing to headcaps and corners and edges. Pale scattered foxing on laid paper that has remained fresh. In volume III, leaf 91 detached.
The work was established by the author from her own journal written during the years 1819 and 1820. The journey begins with the Alps, then through Piedmont, Lombardy, Genoa, Piacenza, Parma, Bologna, Modena, Tuscany, Rome, Naples and Venice. Beyond being a classic narrative of a journey to Italy, even if its perception by an English woman is particular, the book shines through certain aspects quite new at the time, as Lady Morgan casts a political eye on everything she sees, the view of an independent woman with a liberal and democratic spirit. In this regard, the work caused a stir upon its publication and provoked strong reactions in public opinion in Italy, precisely in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia and the State of Lombardy-Venetia, whose repressive politics the author had denounced. Furthermore, this political aim and this criticism were from the outset in the author's baggage since her book, not yet written, was already an editorial project. Charles Morgan, her husband, took care to nourish the book with statistics and precise notes. This Italy of Lady Morgan is in any case a most precious and interesting testimony on the Italy of the Restoration. The narrative was praised upon its publication by Byron for the accuracy of its observations.