[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]

Lot 138
11.12.2024 14:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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£ 10 710
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1349643
Lot 138 | [AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
Estimate value
£ 4 000 – 6 000
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion. London: John Murray, 1818
First editions of both novels. Published the year after the author’s death in a run of 1750 copies, this first edition combines Northanger Abbey, the first of Austen’s novels to be completed for publication, with Persuasion, the very last of her completed works. According to the author's sister, Cassandra, Northanger Abbey was written in the years 1798-1799, although it has been suggested ‘a first version may have been written as early as 1794’ (Gilson, p. 82). In 1803, Austen sold the manuscript, then entitled Susan, to the London publisher Richard Crosby and Son., for £10. When it failed to appear after six years, she asked Mr Crosby for information, only to be told that he was under no obligation to publish it and that she could have it back for the amount he had paid her. The novelist waited until 1816 to accept the offer, but despite preparing the manuscript for publication once more, and changing the title from Susan to Catherine, still held it back. As a result, it only appeared posthumously with Persuasion in December 1817, the eventual title apparently supplied by her brother Henry Austen, who prefaced the text with a ‘Biographical Notice’ of his sister. Persuasion was begun on 8 August 1815 and completed a year later. Gilson A9.

4 volumes, 12mo (174 x 104mm). Half-title in vol. 1 (lacking half-titles in vols. 2-4 and blanks P7-8 in vol. 4, some spotting). Contemporary polished calf (neatly rebacked preserving backstrip, green morocco spine labels renewed to style, some splitting at joints, upper board of vol. 1 detached). Provenance: ‘Fanny Roberts from her affection friend M. T. November 1825’ (inscription on each title, except for vol. 4 where ‘Fanny Roberts’ replaces another name, possibly ?Marianne Thornton, which is crossed through) – Frank Thomas Robertson Giles (20th-century bookplate on front pastedowns).
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