THE MAN OF FEELING. The second edition, corrected.

12mo, pp. viii, 268; a decent copy, in contemporary calf, rebacked. Second edition of a famous sentimental novel, perhaps the most successful and most notable of the genre. Mackenzie (1745-1831) was a practising lawyer and never a professional writer, but he was active in the Edinburgh literary scene, promoting Burns and inspiring Scott. He wrote further novels, including Julia de Roubigné (1777), and edited periodical essays such as The Lounger (1785-7). The Man of Feeling remains his best-known work, being reprinted dozens of times well into the next century, and translated into French, German, Polish and Swedish: it remains a touchstone of the 'sentimental' school, by a man who was himself exceptionally sensitive. It is impossible to read it, however, without noticing the strong influence of Sterne the novel itself begins with Chapter IX, and a note reminding the reader that 'the Editor is accountable only for scattered chapters, and fragments of chapters'. Garside, Raven and Schöwerling 1771: 46/ This is a genuinely new edition, reset throughout, although how 'corrected' the text is remains unclear. Provenance. Early ownership inscription on title of Elizabeth Wood.…