275 - ROMAINS, Jules. *Men of Good Will*.

ROMAINS, Jules. *Men of Good Will*. Complete first edition in 27 volumes. A fine copy from the library of André Maurois, enriched with several autograph dedications signed by the author to the Maurois couple. Paris, Flammarion, 1932–1946. 27 in-8 volumes, red half-basane, spine with cold-stamped raised bands, author’s name and title in green morocco, marbled paper endpapers and linings, speckled head, covers and some spines preserved (modern binding). Approximately 300 pages per volume. Spines faded, scuffing on the leather with a few losses; some covers slightly soiled. First edition of this literary masterpiece comprising 27 volumes published over a period of fourteen years, between 1932 and 1946. *Les Hommes de bonne volonté* represents the pinnacle of unanimous literary acclaim and one of the most ambitious fictional undertakings of the 20th century. Through the stories of a multitude of characters encountered in Paris and throughout France at the turn of the century, Jules Romains (1885–1972) paints a panoramic picture of French society, marked in particular by the masterful epic devoted to World War I (*Prelude to Verdun* and *Verdun*). A copy from the personal library of the writer and member of the Académie Française André Maurois (1885–1967), featuring his bookplate engraved by Raoul Serres after a design by Henri Mondor on the front endpapers. It is enriched with several signed autograph dedications (sometimes just signatures) from Jules Romains to André and Simone Maurois (in volumes 1 through 6, 9, 23, 26, and 27). Volume 27 bears the inscription “copy specially printed for André Maurois.” A beautiful set, well-preserved and identical throughout.