Books

Bound in teal green cloth, blindstamped with clusters of flower petals on the front and rear boards. The spine label is mostly worn off with some black lettering on white remaining. Worn with a slight spine slant. With wear to the corners, and touch of puckering to the cloth at the bottom corner of the front boards near the spine. The front free endpaper has been excised. With some faint pencil marks on the front paste-down; and a handsome pencil drawing of Count D'Orsay on the rear endpaper. Very faint triangular dampstain cone measuring 2" x 2" widening at the bottom center of the text in the early pages, but gradually fading out. With "Temple" (underlined) written in pencil at the top of the title page. A vintage copy Mary Shelley's Falkner which is the only one of her novels in which the heroine's agenda triumphs. The novel's resolution proposes that when female values triumph over violent and destructive masculinity, men will be freed to express the "compassion, sympathy, and generosity" of their better natures. (Wikipedia) Falkner(1837) is the penultimate book published by the authorMary Shelley. Like Shelley's earlier novelLodore(1835), it charts a young woman's education under a tyrannical father figure. As a six-year-old orphan, Elizabeth Raby prevents Rupert Falkner from committing suicide; Falkner then adopts her and brings her up to be a model of virtue. However, she falls in love with Gerald Neville, whose mother Falkner had unintentionally driven to her death years before. When Falkner is finally acquitted of murdering Neville's mother, Elizabeth's female values subdue the destructive impulses of the two men she loves, who are reconciled and unite with Elizabeth in domestic harmony. Falkneris the only one of Shelley's novels in which the heroine's agenda triumphs.[2]In critic Kate Ferguson Ellis's view, the novel s resolution proposes that when female values triumph over violent and destructive masculinity, men will be freed to express the "compassion, sympathy, and generosity" of their better natures.[3] Critics have until recently citedLodoreandFalkneras evidence of aconservativeretrenchment by Shelley. In 1984,Mary Pooveyidentified the retreat of Shelley s reformist politics into the "separate sphere" of the domestic.[4]As withLodore, contemporary critics reviewed the novel as a romance, overlooking its political subtext and noting its moral issues as purely familial. Betty Bennett argues, however, thatFalkneris as much concerned with power and political responsibility as Shelley's previous novels.[5]Poovey suggested that Shelley wroteFalknerto resolve her conflicted response to herfather's combination oflibertarianradicalism and stern insistence on social decorum.[6]. Critics viewFalknerneither as notably feminist,[7]nor as one of Mary Shelley's strongest novels, though she herself believed it could be her best. The novel has been criticised for its two-dimensional characterisation.[8]In Bennett's view, "LodoreandFalknerrepresent fusions of the psychologicalsocial novelwith the educational novel, resulting not in romances but instead in narratives of destabilization: the heroic protagonists are educated women who strive to create a world of justice and universal love".[9](Wikipedia) First American Edition, 1st printing with the title page date of 1837.

Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" stands as a cornerstone of gothic literature and a prized artifact in the rare book market. Published in 1818, the novel's lasting influence on literature, culture, and science fiction has made it highly sought after by collectors. This article explores the literary importance of "Frankenstein," its historical context, and the factors contributing to its rarity and value. "Frankenstein" is often regarded as one of the first science fiction novels. Its themes of unchecked ambition, the quest for knowledge, and the consequences of playing God have captivated readers for over two centuries. Shelley's exploration of complex ethical and philosophical questions has made the novel a subject of academic study and a timeless piece of literature. The story's impact on popular culture is profound, with numerous adaptations in film, theatre, and other media. The novel was conceived during the summer of 1816, known as the "Year Without a Summer," at the Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva. It emerged from a storytelling contest among Mary Shelley, her future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Polidori. The first edition of "Frankenstein" was published anonymously in 1818 by the small London publishing house Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones. Only 500 copies were printed, and Mary Shelley's name did not appear as the author until the 1823 edition. The rarity of "Frankenstein" in the rare book market is mainly due to the scarcity of its first edition. With only 500 copies initially printed and the book's age, surviving copies are extremely rare. The fragile nature of early 19th-century books, combined with historical events such as wars and natural disasters, has further reduced the number of existing copies. The market value of a first edition of "Frankenstein" can reach staggering amounts. In recent years, well-preserved copies have been auctioned for hundreds of thousands of dollars. For instance, a first edition copy sold at a Christie's auction in 2021 for $1.17 million.