67 - CUSTINE (A.-L.-L., Marquis de). Russia in 1839.

CUSTINE (A.-L.-L., Marquis de). Russia in 1839. Paris, Amyot, 1843; 4 volumes, in-8. 2 ff.-XXXI-354 pp. 2 ff.-416 pp. 2 ff.-470 pp. 2 ff.-544 pp.—genealogical table in volume 4. Green half-basane, smooth spines, gilt roundels. (Contemporary bindings).—A few slight scuffs, a small old repair on the half-title and title page of vol. 1 (possibly caused by the bookbinder?); Jaws split over 3 cm on vols. 3 & 4; no foxing. First edition. A second edition as well as a Belgian pirated edition appeared the same year. Russia in 1839 is the Marquis de Custine’s masterpiece. Undertaken to personally champion the cause of his friend Ignace Gurowski, this account would prove to be a revelation. Faced with the terrifying spectacle of Russian society laid bare before his analysis, Custine—an aristocrat at heart—becomes a sort of revolutionary “in the face of servitude and, even more so, the terrifying silence in which an entire people is walled in.” “Despotism is never so formidable as when it claims to do good, for then it believes it can excuse even its most revolting acts by its intentions!” “When your son is unhappy in France, use my remedy: tell him, ‘Go to Russia.’” “It is a worthwhile journey. Anyone who has truly seen that country will be happy to live anywhere else!” (In French in the text, No. 262). The book was a great success in France and was banned in Russia.