Genlis, Stephanie Felicite de Saint-Aubin, Comtesse de. A SERIES OF NOVELS, by Madame de Genlis. VOL. I. CONTAINING, MADEMOISELLE DE CLERMONT, APOSTACY; OR, THE RELIGIOUS FAIR, THE HERDSMEN OF THE PYRENEES ... VOL. II. CONTAINING, THE REVIEWERS, THE CASTLE OF KOLMERAS, THE MAN OF WORTH ... VOL. III. CONTAINING, THE PERPLEXED LOVER, DESTINY; OR THE UNFORTUNATE ... VOL. IV. CONTAINING, THE PRINCESS DES URSINS, THE GREEN PETTICOAT, THE HUSBAND TURNED TUTOR, [PAMROSE; OR,] THE PALACE AND THE COT, A WOMAN'S PREJUDICES. London: Printed for T. N. Longman, and O. Rees, Paternoster-Row, 1802. 12mo, four volumes: pp. [i-v] vi-xi [xii] [1] 2-151 [152: blank] [1] 2-148; [i-iv] [1] 2-290; [i-iv] [1] 2-301 [302: blank]; [i-iv] [1] 2-318, all four half title leaves are present, early full tree calf, spine panels lettered and tooled in gold. First edition in English. An anonymous translation of romantic short novels and novelettes: historical, religious, satirical, etc. Full contents: "Mademoiselle de Clermont"; "Apostacy", or the Religious Fair"; "The Herdsmen of the Pyrenees"; "The Reviewer"; "The Castle of Kolmeras"; "The Man of Worth"; "The Perplexed Lover"; "Destiny, or the Unfortunate"; "The Princess des Ursins"; "The Green Petticoat"; "The Husband Turned Tutor"; "The Palace and the Cot"; "A Woman's Prejudices." "The Castle of Kolmeras" is a Gothic romance (perhaps a parody of Gothic fiction) with rationalized supernaturalism. According to the preface, these tales were selected from [NOUVELLE] BIBLIOTHEQUE DES ROMANS, a French periodical published in Paris (1798-1805) by Maradan, which published literary history, criticism and fiction by Madame de Genlis and others. At least two of the tales, "The Princess des Ursins" and "The Green Petticoat," were published a few years later as chapbooks. Madame de Genlis (1746-1830) "was an inexhaustible writer of popular romances which combined sentiment and sensation, morals and history, but lacked simplicity or humour -- 'Mademoiselle de Clermont' (1802), her most noted work." - OCFL, p. 304. "She was a writer with great influence in England ... where she was admired for pedagogy more than the romances among her 100 books." - Blain, Grundy and Clements, The Feminist Companion to Literature in English, p. 417. Each volume is signed at top of half title or title page by Mary Pinkney, an early owner. Bindings worn, covers detached, front cover of volume three missing; some internal tanning and foxing to text blocks, but otherwise in nice condition save for a small chip and tear in fore-edge margin of leaf E3 in volume two; needs rebinding. Not in Block, The English Novel 1740-1850. No copies recorded in COPAC or OCLC. Rare. (#119551)