Dom Sebastien, roy de Portugal. Nouvelle historique. Première (- troisième) partie. 1679 C. Barbin, 12mo, cont. calf (rebacked), richly gilt spine on 4 raised bands, [4]-199-[1], 213-[3], 235-[5] pp. (minor soiling). Very good copy.
Estimation :
450 / 500
Adjudication :
Invendu
Description
Anonymous French historical novel on the love life of the unmarried King of Portugal, Don Sebastian (1544-1578), who was probably killed in the Battle of the Three Kings (in Alcácer Quibir). Rumour had it that he was saved and would return soon. “Dom Sebastien a eu du succès, il a consolé les derniers jours de La Rochefoucauld et il a plu a Mme de Sévigné” (Cioranescu, Le Masque, p. 478). This novel was in 1690 turned into a play by the English author John Dryden (1631-1700). The old name on the title is claimed by an 18th-c. English hand (front endpaper) to be John Dryden, and this claim is repeated on the (new) spine. French note on p. 1 (also claimed to be written by Dryden!).
