The Circle:
or Conversations on love and gallantry; originally in French: now Englished. And since augmented with several new songs, illustrated with musical notes, both treble and base. By Nath. Noel, Gent.
London: Printed in the Year, 1675 Stock Code: 145746
First edition in English of Brémond's novel Le Cercle, first published in Paris in 1673, and here translated by Nathaniel Noel.
This was the first of ten novels the author is known to have published from 1673 to 1680. "Typical of the shorter, more realistic fiction which abounds in the second half of the seventeenth century, Brémond's novels are characterized by their contemporary subject matter, their objective and often satirical appraisal of love and marriage, and in particular by a mild exoticism based demonstrably upon the author's personal experiences in Spain, Tunis, and elsewhere" (Grobe, pp. 134-5).
The book is very scarce, with ESTC locating copies in only five institutions (Bodleian, Huntington, Newberry, William Clarke, Beinecke), and with only two results forthcoming in auction listings.
Description
Small octavo (144 x 85 mm). Modern calf, red morocco label.
Illustrations
Integral printed music.
Condition
Bound without initial blank and final errata leaf. Ownership signature and jottings of William Courteney dated 1696 to title and terminal leaf. Binding in fine condition. Title leaf browned with peripheral chipping resulting in minor loss to lettering and reinforced with tape on verso, a little closely trimmed occasionally shaving pagination and text, tiny chip at head of N1 affecting pagination, excision to final leaf with slight loss to text, text bound closely in gutter. Overall a very good copy of a scarce book.
Bibliography
ESTC R202999; Wing B4345A (wrongly attributing authorship to Gabriel de Brémond). See Edwin P. Grobe, "Gabriel and Sebastien Brémond", in Romance Notes, Vol. 4, No. 2, 1963, pp. 132-5.
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