"THE CZAREWITZ ALEXIS PETROWITZ IS WORTHY OF DEATH, FOR HIS AFORESAID CRIMES, AND CAPITAL TRANSGRESSIONS, AGAINST HIS SOVEREIGN AND FATHER": THE TRYAL OF THE CZAREWITZ, 1725 FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH

(PETER THE GREAT) (PETROVICH, Alexei, Czarevich). The Tryal of the Czarewitz, Alexis Petrowitz, Who was Condemn'd at Petersbourg, on the 25th of June, 1718, for a Design of Rebellion and Treason against the Life of the Czar His Father. Written originally in Russian… and now Translated into English. London: James Crokatt, 1725. Octavo, period-style tan paneled calf, raised bands, red morocco spine label. $1250.

First (and only) edition in English of this rare account of the show trial of Alexis Petrovich, Peter the Great's son, for alleged rebellion against his father. Handsomely bound.

Alexei Petrovich, Peter the Great's sole surviving son and of a gentle and even monastic disposition, had fled Russia rather than attempt to meet his father's demands and expectations. Enticed back upon Peter's oath that he would not be punished—"I assure you by this present, and promise to God and his Judgment, that I will not punish you," his father reportedly said (page 15)—Alexei found himself betrayed by his father and at the center of a great purge: his mother was removed from a monastery and tried for adultery, his friends were broken on the rack, and he himself was forced to confess under torture. Though the clergy refused to pronounce judgment against him, an assembled group of temporal dignitaries unanimously did find Alexei guilty of merely wishing Peter's death and imagining rebellion—for which they imposed the death sentence. By then, however, it was a moot point, as 28-year-old Alexei had already died as a result of the torture.

Title page faintly foxed, trimmed a little close along upper edge, just touching the word "THE"; text quite clean, binding handsome and fine. Scarce.