Quarto, with half-title and final blank; in later drab boards. First edition of Crabbe's best poem, an unsentimental homage to English country life. It was the work that confirmed his reputation and promise. Written in stirring heroic couplets, the poem was an implicit protest against the enclosure of common land by landowners. Mistakenly regarded as nothing more than a grim cataloguing of the ills of rural life, the opening to the second book is apropos:'No longer truth, though shown in verse, disdain,But own the village life a life of pain;I too must yield, that oft amid these woesAre gleams of transient mirth and hours of sweet repose'. . Text a little dusted, calf spine label defective but a good copy. Seller Inventory # 2408100

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Bibliographic Details

Title: The Village a Poem in Two Books

Publisher: J. Dodsley, London

Publication Date: 1783

Binding: Hardcover

Edition: 1st Edition

Store Description

Hordern House, founded by Anne McCormick and Derek McDonnell in 1985 and named for our original building in Sydney's Potts Point, is an internationally renowned dealership, specialising in rare books, manuscripts and paintings. Always reflected in our extensive stock of rare and select material is our specialization in voyages and travels (with a special interest in the Pacific & Australia), natural history and colour-plate material, paintings and voyage art, historical maps and manuscripts. We issue regular catalogues, some of which are published online only: all our recent catalogues can be viewed on our website.

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Hordern House Rare Books
Hordern House, Level 2, 255 Riley Street, Surry Hills, NSW, 2010, Australia

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