The Cenci: A Tragedy in Five Acts

Description

Shelley, Percy Bysshe.. The Cenci: A Tragedy in Five Acts. London: C & J Ollier, 1821. Second Edition. Full Contemporary Calf. Very Good. xvii, (i), 103pp. This, his only play, based in fact, with at its heart the moral dilemmas of incest & rightful patricide mirroring (in Shelley’s mind) that faced by the English population following the Peterloo Massacre & for which his high hopes for commercial success on the London stage were to be disappointed was originally published two years earlier peppered with printer’s errors in an Italian edition of only 250 copies. Sorry about that sentence. No half title but with two original blanks at either end of the text. On front pastedown is a school presentation label dated 1916 with the plate of original owner beneath. Boards with a single gilt ruled fillet border with decorative flower & leaf scrolled in blind. Recently re-backed lettered & ruled in gilt. One or two spots of foxing to otherwise fresh & clean text. Original stab-stitching giving in a couple of places but remaining entirely sound.