Barbey d'Aurevilly

Weird Women: Being a Literal Translation of "Les Diaboliques" [Two Volume Set] [Limited Edition]

London: Lutetian Bibliophiles' Society, 1900. Very Good. Item #47200

London: Lutetian Bibliophiles' Society, 1900. First English Language Edition, Limited to 500 copies. Two volumes; octavos (20cm); publisher's rose moire cloth, gilt-lettered spines, top edges gilt; xv,[1],216; [2],217-490pp.; woodcut frontispiece and ten leaves of plates (collated complete). Moderate scuffing to cloth margins with brief exposure at corners, spine cloth a bit toned, else a Very Good, bright and sound set. Ownership ex libris to front pastedowns of the Philip H. and A.S.W. Rosenbach Foundation Museum with 1968 deaccessioned rubber-stamps.

The first English translation of Barbey d'Aurevilly's masterpiece, a series of sinister short stories originally published in France as "Les Diaboliques" in 1874. Translated more literally as "The She-Devils," each tale touches upon a woman who commits an act of evil. Upon its initial publication the work caused an uproar and was declared a danger to public morality and the publisher Dentu immediately destroyed the remaining 500 unsold copies. A second French edition appeared nine years later to no notice.

This edition was published clandestinely under the false imprint of the so-called Lutetian Bibliophiles' Society, a.k.a. the prolific publisher of turn-of-the-century erotica Charles Carrington, who wrote the foreword. "I am afraid the present book, will not terrify Vice to any great extent, but, on the other hand I do not see why it should terrify Virtue" (p. xv).

Price: $1,250.00