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The Marble Faun: or, The Romance of Monte Beni

The Marble Faun: or, The Romance of Monte Beni

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The Marble Faun: or, The Romance of Monte Beni

by Hawthorne, Nathaniel

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  • first
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About This Item

Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1860. First edition, mixed issue, of Nathaniel Hawthorne's expatriate romance, inspired by his encounter with the Faun of Praxiteles in Rome. The novel follows three American artists in Italy who become entangled with the enigmatic Donatello, Count of Monte Beni: "There was an indefinable characteristic about Donatello that set him outside of rules." This copy accords, in collation and pagination, with Blanck's first printing. First issue points: the preface precedes the table of contents in Volume I; "on" is uncorrected to "for" on page 225, line 22, of Volume I; no "Conclusion" in Volume II. Second issue points: page ix of Volume I and page 197 of Volume II unsigned. Second state of the publisher's catalog, dated March 1860. BAL 7621. A very good copy of a Gothic classic. Two volumes, measuring 7 x 4.5 inches: xiv, 15-283, [5], 16; 284, [4]. Original full brown ribbed cloth ruled and decorated in blind, spines lettered in gilt, reddish-brown coated endpapers. Publisher's catalog, dated March 1860, in Volume I. Light wear to cloth, spine ends and corners rubbed, with small loss to head of Volume I. Housed in a custom chemise and slipcase.

Synopsis

The fragility-and the durability-of human life and art dominate this story of American expatriates in Italy in the mid-nineteenth century. Befriended by Donatello, a young Italian with the classical grace of the "Marble Faun," Miriam, Hilda, and Kenyon find their pursuit of art taking a sinister turn as Miriam's unhappy past precipitates the present into tragedy. Hawthorne's 'International Novel' dramatizes the confrontation of the Old World and the New and the uncertain relationship between the 'authentic' and the 'fake' in life as in art. The author's evocative descriptions of classic sites made The Marble Faun a favorite guidebook to Rome for Victorian tourists, but this richly ambiguous symbolic romance is also the story of a murder, and a parable of the Fall of Man. As the characters find their civilized existence disrupted by the awful consequences of impulse, Hawthorne leads his readers to question the value of Art and Culture and addresses the great evolutionary debate which was beginning to shake Victorian society.

Read More: Identifying first editions of The Marble Faun: or, The Romance of Monte Beni

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Details

Bookseller
Honey & Wax Booksellers US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
1003174
Title
The Marble Faun: or, The Romance of Monte Beni
Author
Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Book Condition
Used
Quantity Available
1
Publisher
Ticknor & Fields
Place of Publication
Boston
Date Published
1860
Weight
0.00 lbs
Keywords
literature, fiction
Note
May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.

Terms of Sale

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About the Seller

Honey & Wax Booksellers

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2015
Brooklyn, New York

About Honey & Wax Booksellers

Honey & Wax offers a mix of classics and surprises: rare first printings, original artwork, unexpected survivals, books with no downloadable equivalent. Founders of the Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize. Our bookroom is open by appointment in Brooklyn, NY.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Second State
used in book collecting to refer to a first edition, but after some change has been made in the printing, such as a correction,...
BAL
Bibliography of American Literature (commonly abbreviated as BAL in descriptions) is the quintessential reference work for any...
Gilt
The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
Cloth
"Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Spine
The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
First Edition
In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...

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