Maurice,or the Fisher's Cot. [First publication of her recently discovered story.]

UK,small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip (£9.99) to dw/dj.Bright, crisp,clean,matt,posthumous author's portrait painting illustration to front panel of dw/dj,with orange+white lettering,rear panel with facsimile reproduction of Shelley's handwriting; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present and top half of coloured spine/backstrip inevitably sunned and faded.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine /backstrip and immaculate monochrome illustrated endpapers.UK, small 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,vii-xivpp+1-151pp [paginated] includes illustrations list/table,acknowledgements,a preface by Cristina Dazzi,an introduction by Claire Tomalin,a note on the Text,the story in 3 Pts, reproduction of the story showing author's original lineation, pagination,spelling,corrections and emendations,8pp contemporary b/w illustration reproductions+contemporary portrait photographs in 1 block, between pp50/1,a further 8pp of contemporary b/w illustrations and facsimile reproductions of author's handwriting,between pp98/9,an appendix,notes,and a bibliographical note.Plus [unpaginated] b/w facsimile example Shelley's handwriting as frntis,title page,contents list/table,note on the Text,title separator page,another separator page (original version),family tree separator page and two genealogical family tree charts (Mary Shelley's and Lady Mountcashell's) and 4pp blanks at the rear. In November 1997 The Times newspaper announced the discovery in a country house in Tuscany of a log-lost story for children by Mary Shelley. Having written the story for Laurette,the eleven-year-old daughter of her friend and fellow exile in Italy,Lady Mountcashell,Mary sent a copy to her father,the writer and publisher William Godwin,in London.But at thirty-nine closely written pages he pronounced it too short to publish - after which all copies of the manuscript disappeared and were presumed lost by scholars.The finding of the original story written in Mary's own hand is therefore a significant literary and historical event. 'Maurice' was written in 1820,two years after the publication of her great Gothic novel 'Frankenstein',at a time when Mary,still only twenty-two,was sunk in depression.She had eloped with Shelley at sixteen,borne him four children and seen three of them die.It is of enormous interest,then, that below the surface simplicity and attractiveness of the story there runs a deep current of melancholy. Set on the Devon coast near Torquay,it begins with a funeral and tells of a boy who has lost his parents and of a father whose son has been abducted.Although the story ends happily for the boy,there is a sad twist even here. This Viking edition represents the very first publication of 'Maurice'.The text itself is given in full, including a number of changes,deletions,and errors made by the author.And in a long introduction Claire Tomlinson - author of a major biography of Mary Shelley's mother,Mary Wollstonecraft - discusses the literary and psychological significance of the story,and investigates the history of the two extraordinary households which were linked together by Mary's gift to Laurette. The text of 'Maurice' appears twice in this edition.The first version is corrected and slightly modernized for ease of reading.The second shows Mary Shelley's original lineation,pagination,spelling,punctuation, corrections and emendations; only the old double 's' has been modernized.The manuscript has been re-set for line,with vertical rules indicating the original page breaks. Since April 2013,again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering it's prices, weight allowances,dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too!
So,please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the lighter weight of this item for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!