[KRÜDENER, Barbara Juliane Von]. Valérie, or Letters from Gu - Lot 101

[KRÜDENER, Barbara Juliane Von]. Valérie, or Letters from Gustave de Linar to Ernest de G... Very rare first edition of this masterpiece of pre-romanticism, published anonymously by Baroness de Krüdener (1764-1824). Paris, Henrichs, 1804. 2 volumes in 1 volume in-12, brown basane racinée, smooth green morocco spine decorated with compartmented fleurons and title in gilt lettering, cold fillet framing the boards, ornate sides, light yellow edges. Contemporary binding. VIII and 261 pp., 208 pp. and 1 f. errata. Slight rubbing, corners very slightly bent. Note an error in the title at the back of the book, marked "Lettres de Valentine" instead of Valérie. Anonymous first edition, "very rare" according to Carteret, of this epistolary novel described by Saint-Beuve as "a little masterpiece", and which enjoyed considerable success at the time. It is the most famous and only novel by the adventurous Russian Baroness de Krüdener (1764-1824), who lived in Paris during the Revolution, influenced Bernardin de St Pierre, and befriended Mme de Staël, Mme Récamier and Chateaubriand. Inspired by her affair with Alexandre de Skatieff, this sentimental, frenetic novel is unanimously recognized as one of the masterpieces of pre-romanticism. [Carteret, I, 459] Atypical copy, beautifully bound.