Rare, out-of-print & unusual books · Since 1997
London, Nonesuch Press, 1943. Hardcover, 150 pp. Translated from from the French by H. Ashton with an introduction by Jean Cocteau and 10 beautiful full color illustrations by Hermine David. Includes Translator's Preface and Historical Notes.
In good condition. Does NOT include slip case OR the two-page accompanying Sandglass. Decorated cloth covered boards with a Fleur-de-lis pattern on both sides and with brown cloth and gold stamped lettering on spine. Nicking to the cloth over the top corner of the front cover and the gold lettering on spine is heavily rubbed. light overall scuffing and soiling to covers as well. Binding tight. Small slit at top and bottom of paper over front hinge (between front paste-down and front free end paper. Otherwise pages are lightly aged but clean and unmarked. NOT Ex-Library. This is part of a series of "Great French Romances" designed by Francis Maynell, owner of the Nonesuch Press. The Princess of Cleves was a landmark in the history of the novel. The author, La Fayette (her full name, Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, comtesse de La Fayette) was a French writer and memorialist. Originally published anonymously in 1678, La Fayette eventually was attached to the work. The novel tells the plight of a young, unhappily married aristocratic woman living at the court of King Henry II of France, whose love for a noble caused her great mental anguish and despair. The inclusion of emotional issues and a strong focus on the private lives of the fictional characters was unusual at this time and considered a prototype of the psychological novel. The illustrator, Hermine David, was a member of the Ecole de Paris, a group of artist-immigrants in France. Her illustrations were reproduced by the Photogravure and Coloring Company, with the colors handpainted by the studio of Charlize Brakely.