Description

London, Published for the Trade, no date listed, circa 1910-1920. Two volumes in one. Hardcover,Vol I: xliv, 183 pp,; Vol II: 245 pp. Black and white illustrations. Acceptable/ NO dust jacket. Red cloth covered boards show signs of wear, with bumping to edges nicking and fraying to the cloth at the corner tips and top and bottom of spine. The spine is faded with a partially detached and chipped paper label that has text loss. Moderate overall scuffing, fading and soiling to covers as well. Spine is cracked along the front hinge but binding is otherwise still intact. There are pen and pencil notations on the endpapers and paste-downs. Otherwise pages lightly aged with occasional spotting and soiling, small nicks and corner creasing. A good reading copy. A collection of tales inspired by Boccaccio's Decameron, reflecting the social and moral dynamics of the 16th century. Margaret of Angouleme, also known as Margaret of Navarre (1492 - 1549), was a renowned patron of the arts and literature, the sister of King Francis I of France, and a key figure in the French Renaissance. Her stories explore themes of love, virtue, and human folly through a framework of noble characters seeking refuge from a flood. This edition includes a memoir of the author and an essay on The Heptameron by Walter K. Kelly.