339 - MUSSET (Alfred de).

MUSSET (Alfred de). The Confession of a Child of the Century. Paris, Félix Bonnaire, 1836. 2 in-8 volumes (205 x 125 mm) comprising [2] folios, 321 pp., [2] ff., 330 pp. Light-colored half-calf, smooth spine with decoration, title and volume number in gold (pastiche binding). Missing the final blank pages. First edition of one of the greatest novels in French literature, which could be described as a precursor to autofiction in today’s terms. A true manifesto of the disillusioned generation born after the Empire, Musset’s *Confession* stands as one of the major expressions of the Romantic “mal du siècle,” as seen, among other things, in the relationship between the characters Octave and Brigitte, which was very directly inspired by his affair with George Sand. Washed copy, with very slight traces of old water stains. Small pencil marks in ink in the margin of page 48 of Volume II. A fine copy.