The Wanderer: A Tale. By the author of
A GOTHIC CLASSIC
Melmoth The Wanderer: A Tale. By the author of
Archibald Constable, 1820.
First edition. Four volumes, bound in contemporary tan half calf over marbled boards with flat spines with gilt rules and titles. All half titles present and blanks present as is the single leaf of terminal adverts to vol. IV.
A fine, tall set, without repair. Just the most trivial wear to the spines of the binding. Internally fresh and crisp with just a single marginal closed tear to O4 of vol. I. An exceptional copy in strictly contemporary binding. Housed in a quarter tan calf
clamshell box.
The superb Bradley Martin copy of Maturin's key work and Gothic masterpiece, in which the eponymous hero exchanges his soul for immortality. The story of his tortured wanderings through the centuries is pieced together by those who he implored to take over his pact with the devil.
Although the novel received initial criticism for its complex plot and clumsy construction, it marks a significant step in the development of the novel as a genre, moving away from the traditional reliance on external atmospherics and introducing a more psychological element. Its influence can be seen in novels for the next hundred years, from Henry James to Dostoyevsky. Oscar Wilde (who was Maturin's great nephew), used themes from the book in his only novel 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and took the title as his pseudonym after his release from imprisonment.
PROVENANCE: H Bradley Martin (1906-1988, noted book collector, bookplate to pastedown of vol. I, his sale April 1990); Barry Humphries (1934-2023, Australian actor, bookplate to box).
Stock ID: 45989
£25,000.00
