"DICKENS' IMAGINATION SIMPLY POURS INTO EVERYTHING HE WRITES"

DICKENS, Charles. A Child's History of England. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1852-54. Three volumes. Small octavo, late 19th-century full navy morocco gilt, raised bands, elaborately gilt-decorated spines, marbled endpapers; housed in a custom chemise and slipcase. $4500.

First edition, first state, of Dickens's history of England for children, with frontispieces by F.W. Topham, beautifully bound by Alfred Matthews.

"Very sharp and very opinionated… the book bears a strong resemblance to his two historical novels, Barnaby Rudge and A Tale of Two Cities; it is essentially history as theatre, with crowds, confrontations, clashes, battles, death scenes and sundry noises off. But it is also energetically written; Dickens's imagination simply pours into everything he writes or speaks, and so there are moments of great power" (Ackroyd, Dickens, 584). First state, with first state ads in Volumes I and III and with no page number on p. xi in Volume I. Eckel 128-129. Smith II:10.

Expert repairs to joints and extremities. A beautifully bound copy.