Alfred de VIGNY.
Cinq-Mars, ou une conjuration sous Louis XIII. Paris, Urbain Canel, 1826.
2 volumes in-8: marbled fawn calf, ornate smooth spines, long-grained red morocco title and endpapers, gilt roulette framing the boards, gold filleted edges (period binding).
First edition.
The first French historical novel.
Maligned by historians at its publication, Cinq-Mars was hailed by writers, foremost among them
Victor Hugo, who considered it "admirable". Born of Vigny's adolescent historical readings and his admiration for Walter Scott (French literature at the time was struck by Anglomania), the novel was a remarkable success, as evidenced by the multiple reprints - the third of which, the following year (1827), was printed by Balzac.
A superb copy, perfectly preserved in full contemporary decorated binding.
From the library of the Château de La Roche-Guyon, with stamp on the titles, property of the La Rochefoucauld family.
(Carteret, Le Trésor du Bibliophile II, p. 452: "Extremely rare.")
