126 - [GRAFFIGNY, Françoise de]. Letters from a Peruvian Woman.

[GRAFFIGNY, Françoise de]. Letters from a Peruvian Woman. Peine [Paris], n.p., n.d. [c. 1747] Small in-12 (14 x 8 cm), havana calfskin, upper cover bearing the coat of arms (Lullin), ribbed spine, compartments decorated with a spiderweb pattern. Red edges. Period binding. XII-336 pp. Interior slightly yellowed. Two pasted-in bookplates (Julien Félix and A. Perreau). A rare pirated edition of one of the famous literary works of the 18th century, placed on the Index on July 28, 1765. It was printed clandestinely by the Widow Pissot under the false imprint “A Peine” in 1747. A salon author known for *La Nouvelle espagnole* and *La Princesse Azerolle*, published in 1745 and later republished under the sole name of the Count of Caylus, Françoise de Graffigny (Nancy, 1695–Paris, 1758) made a name for herself and became a writer in her own right in 1747 with *Lettres d’une Péruvienne*. Composed of 38 letters, this epistolary novel draws heavily on Montesquieu’s *Persian Letters*. It became a European success thanks to translations into English, Italian, and then Spanish, which quickly proliferated. A young Peruvian woman, exiled to Paris when her country fell under Spanish rule, writes to a distant fiancé: having arrived in a world unknown to her, she gradually immersed herself in it and succeeded in learning its customs. The author blends social satire with a writing style of wild verve. A beautiful period-bound copy in havana calfskin, bearing the coat of arms of Lullin (Haute-Savoie): Or, a castle Argent herse of sable, supported by a crescent also Argent.