LITERATURE 22 “A Masterpiece… An Epic Poem In Prose About God, Humanity, And Hugo” 20 HUGO, Victor. Les Miserables. New York, 1862. Five volumes. Octavo, early 20th-century half black morocco. $8200 First edition in English of Hugo’s greatest work, published the same year as the French edition, in original cloth, an especially lovely five-volume work handsomely bound by Bennett. Les Misaerables was an enormous critical and popular success; its immediate translations brought Hugo international fame. The great novel “has been hailed as a masterpiece of popular literature, an epic poem in prose about God, humanity and Hugo… Despite its length, complexity and occasionally unbelievable plot and characterization, it remains a masterpiece of popular literature” (Dolbow, 149, 214). Two English-language translations of Les Miserables were published in 1862, the same year as the first French-language edition. The British translation by Lascelles Wraxall (the English translation authorized by Hugo) was published complete in three volumes in October 1862 by London publishers Hurst and Blackett. The American translation by Charles Wilbour was published in five separate monthly parts from June through October 1862 by New York publisher Carleton Publishing Company—and thus is most probably the first edition in English. Interiors clean, bindings sound and attractive with just a touch of rubbing to corners. A handsome, about-fine copy. “Bovary C’est Moi”: Scarce First Issue Of Flaubert’s Masterpiece 21 FLAUBERT, Gustave. Madame Bovary. Moeurs de Province. Paris, 1857. Two volumes. 12mo, contemporary half brown morocco, custom cloth clamshell box. $9500. Rare first edition, first issue in book form, of Flaubert’s literary masterpiece, in contemporary binding. Upon publication of Madame Bovary, both Flaubert and his publisher were brought to trial on charges of immorality and narrowly escaped conviction (the same tribunal found Charles Baudelaire guilty on the same charge six months later). Although purportedly based in part on the circumstances of Flaubert’s friend Louise Pradier, the author’s claim that “Madame Bovary is myself,” with his unrelenting objectivity and deep compassion for his characters, earned him a reputation as the great master of the Realist school of French literature. Flaubert’s attention to minute particulars of description and his belief in “le mot juste” significantly influenced later writers and thinkers, making Madame Bovary integral to the evolution of modern literature. First issue, with misspelling of “Senard” as “Senart” on dedication page. Text in French. Interior generally fine with only a few faint finger smudges, light wear to binding, and mild toning to spines. A handsome copy in near-fine condition.
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