1770 Devil Upon Two Sticks (Diable Boiteux) Alain-René Lesage Edinburgh Imprint

The Devil Upon Two Sticks. Translated from the Diable Boiteux of M. Le Sage. To which are prefixed Asmodeus s Crutches, A Critical Letter upon the Work: and Dialogues between Two Chimneys of Madrid . Rene LeSage: Edinburgh: Printed for A. Donaldson, and sold at his shop No. 195, corner of Arundel-Street in the Strand, London; and at Edinburgh. 1770. 291 p., 7 x 4.25", 12mo In fair condition. Front board detached from binding; rear hinge is split (board attached by cording only). Boards are normally scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Head and tail of spine lacking; pieces of headbands remain. Title label is intact; gilt lettering moderately soiled. Leather spine exhibits desiccation. Ex-library bookplate found on front paste-down (torn). Front end-page detached. Light toning throughout text-block, with some instances of age-staining or finger-soiling. Light off-setting to leaves adjacent to plates. Binding of text-block is intact; boards need repair. Please see photos. Alain-René Lesage (1668 1747; older spelling Le Sage) was a French novelist and playwright. Lesage is best known for his comic novel The Devil upon Two Sticks (1707, Le Diable boiteux), his comedy Turcaret (1709), and his picaresque novel Gil Blas (1715 1735). Le Diable boiteux (English: The Devil upon Two Sticks; lit. The Lame Devil) is set in Madrid, and tells the story of the demon king Asmodeus, Don Cleophas Leandro Perez Zambullo and his beloved, Donna Thomasa. In the novel, Asmodeus is imprisoned in a bottle. He is freed by a young aristocrat, and then assists his rescuer in a series of pranks. He also grants the young man the superhuman power of flight, which the man uses to spy on others. The novel depicted fictionalized versions of Parisian celebrities of the era. It first published in 1707, and republished by the author, with many changes and additions, in 1725. It is sometimes known in English as Asmodeus, and sometimes as The Devil on Two Sticks, under which title the first English translation appeared in 1708, and was dramatized by Henry Fielding in 1768. RAREB1770BGHA - 12/17 FORN-SHELF-0461-BB-2409-HKREV78. …