"Miserrimus." On a Gravestone in Worcester Cathedral is this emphatic Inscription . with neither Name nor Date, Comment nor Text

Reynolds, Frederic Mansel

Published by Printed and published by J. and J. Harper, New York, 1833

About this Item

First American edition. 204 + 12 pp. publisher's catalogue. 1 vols. 12mo. Reynolds (1800-1850) was the son of playwright Frederick Reynolds, and followed a literary career which led to the editorship of THE KEEPSAKE from 1828 to 1835 and from 1838 to 1839. There were many notable contributors (Sir Walter Scott, the Shelleys, Byron, Southey, et. al.), the most notable being William Wordsworth, who, in 1829, contributed a sonnet on the mysterious gravestone in Worcester Cathedral which bears on it the simple word 'Miserrimus' ('Most Wretched'). "Captivated by Wordsworth's sonnet . Reynolds composed a first-person narrative detailing the crimes of a supposititious Miserrimus. Miserrimus: a Tale was originally printed for private circulation in 1832, and then published in 1833 with a dedication to William Godwin; it was reprinted in the same year. By most of the critics it was given the encomium of 'impassioned', but it was denounced in the Gentleman's Magazine as a libel on an innocent and helpless person. Jekyll, who called it 'Young Reynolds's extravaganza' (DNB), implied that it was the result of a nightmare." - Oxford DNB. This is a beautiful copy of the Harper, 1833 edition, as issued. Original publisher's gray cloth (spine slightly faded) with paper spine label 204 + 12 pp. publisher's catalogue. 1 vols. 12mo.

Seller Inventory # 233530

Bibliographic Details

• Title: "Miserrimus." On a Gravestone in Worcester Cathedral is this emphatic Inscription . with neither Name nor Date, Comment nor Text
• Publisher: Printed and published by J. and J. Harper, New York
• Publication Date: 1833
• Edition: First American edition.
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