Books

FIRST EDITION; two parts in one, leather-bound, hardcover, octavo (20cm x 12cm x 3.5cm), pp. [10], 408. English text. Bound in contemporary panelled calf, with engraved frontispiece, initial and terminal blanks present. Condition: VERY GOOD. Collated complete. Neat spine repair, the binding remaining tight and secure. The interior largely very well-preserved with some light toning and thumbing. Small repair to title-page. Some old inking to endpapers. An excellent copy. Notes: The rare first edition of this work on the supernatural published anonymously by Daniel Defoe (c. 1660-1731), better known as a novelist, satirist and journalist. 'Defoe, a Protestant Dissenter, believed in the devil as a physical being at work in the world. "The Political History of the Devil" suggests that the devil appears on earth both in his own form and through inhabiting the bodies and minds of other beings. Defoe was strongly anti-Catholic and here he associates the devil with Catholicism, specifically with the Pope' (British Library website). It is perhaps telling that the frontispiece depicts the Pope surrounded by Catholic prelates, with a Turk and woman 'en d�collet�' in the foreground, both with cloven hooves! 'Part I gives an account of the Devil after his expulsion from Heaven, together with "Mr Milton's absurdities on that subject" (p. 77), and of his establishing a new kingdom after the Flood. Part II discusses his "Agents or Missionaries" (p. 226) (witches, warlocks, oracles, etc), his part in pagan religion and his personal appearance, including his famous cloven foot, bringing his history down to the present' (Furbank: 'A Critical Bibliography of Daniel Defoe', #228, page 221). [Moore 480].

The History of the Devil is Daniel Defoe's treatise on the nature of the Devil's role in society. It explores his influence in various aspects of world affairs, considers the concept and origin of evil, and provides a historical recounting of the devil as seen in biblical and modern contexts.