MATURIN, Charles (1780-1824). - photo 1
MATURIN, Charles (1780-1824). - photo 2

MATURIN, Charles (1780-1824).

Lot 177
14.12.2022 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 17 640
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 870724
Lot 177 | MATURIN, Charles (1780-1824).
Estimate value
£ 2 000 – 3 000
MATURIN, Charles (1780-1824).

Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co., 1820.

Exceptional first edition of a landmark of Gothic literature, in a contemporary monogrammed binding for the Marchioness of Londonderry. The novel's protagonist sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 150 extra years of life and travels the world in a tormented search for someone who will take over the pact. Its influence was lasting and wide-ranging—references to the work can be found in Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, Nabokov’s Lolita and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Honoré de Balzac wrote a sequel and considered Maturin's novel worthy of a place among the supreme icons of modern European literature, while Oscar Wilde, a great-nephew of Maturin, derived his famous pseudonym, Sebastian Melmoth, from the work. In The English Novel (1905), the critic Walter Raleigh wrote, ‘in Frankenstein and Melmoth the Wanderer, the Romantic orgy reached its height’. Sadleir 1667.



4 volumes, 12mo (175 x 104mm). Half-titles in all vols., advertisement leaf T12 in vol. IV (a handful of trivial spots and minor chips to some blank margins). Contemporary green half roan over marbled boards, gilt monogram of Frances Anne Vane-Stewart to head of spine (light wear at corners). Provenance: Frances Anne Vane-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry (1800-1865; inscription in each volume; binding).





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No VAT on hammer price or buyer's premium.
Place of origin:Northern Europe, Europe, United Kingdom
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
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10.12.2022 – 13.12.2022
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