NORODOM, KING OF CAMBODIA. A ROMANCE OF THE EAST. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1882. Octavo, pp. [1-2] [1-3] 4-6 [7] 8-327 [228: blank] [329-334: ads], flyleaves at front and rear, original decorated brown cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black and gold, rear panel stamped in blind, floral patterned endpapers. First edition. A weighty historical novel set in long-ago Cambodia, examining the connection between personal virtue and national destiny. A long middle section describes the intervention of demonic and angelic forces. A considerable novel with a deep sense of local color and a pivotal role accorded the supernatural; stately rather than sensational, panoramic rather than intimate. It could have used a little more of these other qualities, but remains a serious and skillful piece of work that should be better known. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 146. Not in Bleiler (1948; 1978). Not in Reginald (1979; 1992). Wright (III) 3515. Scattered light foxing to the text pages (common to this book), small abrasion to rear paste-down, a bright, very good copy. (#167237).
Price: $150.00
No statement of printing.