Attributed Riccoboni Circle (1 results)

Rare early Paris edition of the scandalous epistolary novel Lettres de Mistriss Fanni Butlerd, presented as the private correspondence of a young Englishwoman, Fanny Butler, and her noble lover, Lord Charles Alfred of âCaitombridge.â First published in English in 1735 and quickly translated, the work belongs to the same sentimental-literary current that made Richardsonâs Pamela and Clarissa bestsellers, as well as the works of Marie Jeanne Riccoboni. This 1757 Socià tà des Libraires issue (the second French printing) retains the dramatic red-and-black title page, here with early ownership inscription. The translation is attributed to Adà laà de de Varansal, one of the few women translators active in mid-18th century Paris. The novelâs blend of illicit romance, moral anguish, and social satire typifies the pre-Revolutionary taste for passionate, confessional fiction. Surviving in its original paper wrappersâ"with manuscript spine title, a rare state for ephemeral Parisian fictionâ"this copy has remained remarkably untouched, the text block crisp, margins wide, and only minor foxing. A scarce and collectible example of 18th-century sentimental fiction, and a desirable companion to Riccoboni, Graffigny, and Rousseauâs epistolary tradition. A scarce 1757 Paris edition of Lettres de Mistriss Fanni Butlerd, in original wrappers, with red-and-black title. An important epistolary fiction bridging Richardsonâs English sentimentalism and the French pre-Revolutionary taste for clandestine, emotional novels. Good. Original wrappers worn at spine ends, some splitting, but text block solid, pages crisp, red-and-black title page bright. Ownership inscription on title. Untrimmed edges. Contemporary original paper wrappers, manuscript title to spine, edges untrimmed, fragile with wear at spine and corners; unrestored Early edition (second French edition, 1757).