Mandeville. A tale of the seventeenth century in England
by Godwin, William
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co. and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Ornme, and Brown, London, 1817. First edition, 3 volumes, 12mo, pp. xii, 306; [4], 316; [4], 367, [1]; original blue paper-covered boards, brown paper shelfback, printed paper labels on spines; a very good set. Ownership signature in volumes II and III of E. Hornby. Blue cloth slipcase with red morocco label lettered in gilt. "Mandeville was an unexpected novel, coming from the philosopher who laid such stress on the role of reason. Written at the period when his stepdaughter, Fanny, hanged herself, and his daughter, Mary, and Shelley were married at St. Mildred's in Broad Street [27 December 1816], Godwin's novel was set in the civil war, with a poor plot but vivid characterisation turning on the unreasoning hatred of the sour and puritanical Mandeville for the pleasure-loving, charismatic and noble-blooded Clifford. 'Even more than in Caleb Williams, Godwin wields his metaphysical dissecting knife to lay bare the deepest involutions of motive and personality, taking us within his character to feel what he feels and hate what he hates. For all its faults, its verbosity and tedium, it is the relentless expression of this one dominating state of mind ... that makes Mandeville one of Godwin's most extraordinary works' (Locke, A Fantasy of Reason, 1980, pp. 277-78). A fourth volume, entitled Mandeville: the Last Words of a Maniac, was completed by another writer called Arnold and issued by a different publisher" (Christies). Wolff 2588.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Rulon-Miller Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 66726
- Title
- Mandeville. A tale of the seventeenth century in England
- Author
- Godwin, William
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Archibald Constable and Co. and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Ornme, and Brown, London
- Place of Publication
- Edinburgh
- Date Published
- 1817
- Keywords
- , , ,
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Rulon-Miller Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Rulon-Miller Books
Biblio member since 2006
St. Paul, Minnesota
About Rulon-Miller Books
Rare, Fine and Interesting Books in Many Fields from the 15th to the 21st Centuries
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- 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...
- Poor
- A book with significant wear and faults. A poor condition book is still a reading copy with the full text still readable. Any...
- 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...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...