Item #H20023 Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only). Anon.
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)
Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)

Adrian & Thecla: or, Friendship in Adversity. Pathetic Tales. (Vol. one only)

London: Printed for David Ogilvy and Son, 1801. First printing. Hardcover. Vol. 1 only. 12mo, 6.25 x 4 inches, period half leather and marbled boards, fair copy with quite a bit of rubbing and wear to binding but still sturdily bound, small old crude leather repair to top of spine, lacking flyleaf and possibly half title, some old writing on pastedown and more recent white bookplate-sticker, title page with top edge torn off where there was probably a previous owner's signature, from 1830, wear and tape stains to last two pages of text, rear flyleaf also missing, some old writing to last page of text and rear pastedown. Text otherwise good to very good, light foxing throughout. The first of the tales, "Adrian de Benoit" is complete, the second tale, "Thecla de Flormont," begins on p. 131. RARE, no other known copies, no copies in OCLC or any other online directory, although it seems at one time (and perhaps still), Boston Public Library had a copy. The first part, "Adrian de Benoit" tells the adventurous story of a young man from France whose sympathies first are with the Jacobins and who was encouraged by the French Revolution, but who grows disillusioned by what he sees as the breakdown of civil society. When he visits Paris he is appalled by the licentiousness of the theatre scene and of the black markets, trade, brothels and general societal upheaval, which he blames on the Revolution. At some point, Adrian murders the father of Sophia, the object of his love and after a stint in prison, is condemned to death, but manages to escape, with Sophia's help, to Germany. Both tales are told in the first person, and the second also concerns loss of faith in the Republicans. The preface notes that it is hard to reconcile the virtues of the Revolution with the realities of its problems. The author also considers the use of the Jacobin term for a French female citizen -- Citoyenne -- that has no equivalent in English. A fascinating but incomplete rarity of the English response to the French Revolution. Fair. Item #H20023

Price: $150.00

See all items in France
See all items by