"VIVD PAGEANT OF SCENERY AND HISTORICAL ACCURACY"
AINSWORTH, W. Harrison. Crichton. London: Richard Bentley, 1837. Three volumes. Octavo, original paper boards, uncut. $750.
First edition of Ainsworth's novel about the famous James Crichton, in original boards.
A Scotsman of the 16th century, James Crichton was a polymath of considerable skill who managed to graduate from St. Andrews University, study on the continent, fight as a soldier for the French army and work as a tutor to the Duke of Mantua's son before being killed at the age of 22 in a street fight. The legend of his skills began in earnest in the 17th century; it was Ainsworth's novel that cemented it in the English imagination. "Ainsworth's novels are noteworthy… for their vivid pageant of scenery and historical accuracy" (Kunitz & Haycraft, 7).
Interiors quite clean, original paper bondings expertly restored. An extremely good copy.