L. W. Currey, Inc.

Ainsworth, William Harrison. AURIOL [FRAGMENT OF A ROMANCE]. London: Chapman and Hall, 193, Piccadilly (Late 186, Strand), MDCCCL [1850]. Small octavo, pp. [1-7] 8-128, nineteenth-century three-quarter polished calf and marbled boards, red leather title piece affixed to spine panel. First edition. A Gothic tale that tells the story of Auriol Darcy, a man who gains immortality through a pact with the devil and the elixir of life. He becomes eternally youthful but is bound to sacrifice a life every decade to maintain his immortality, leading to a cycle of dark deeds and a desperate search for a way out. Comprises volume XII of AINSWORTH'S WORKS which also collects two stories, "The Old London Merchant" and "A Night's Adventure in Rome." Also known as AURIOL; OR THE ELIXIR OF LIFE, the first draft of this unfinished romance was first published in AINSWORTH'S MAGAZINE, 1844-1846, as "Revelations of London." Barron (ed), Horror Literature 2-1. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 8. Bleiler (ed.), Supernatural Fiction Writers Fantasy and Horror, p. 191. Clute and Grant (eds), The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997), p. 14. Sullivan (ed), The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural, p. 3. Wilson, Shadows in the Attic, p. 27 (citing the Routledge 1865 edition). Bleiler (1978), p. 2. Reginald 00099 (not citing this edition). Tuck (1974), p. 3. Sadleir 3396. Block, The English Novel 1740-1850, p. 5. Topp, Victorian Yellowbacks & Paperbacks, 1849-1905, p. 286. Boards rubbed, several scuffs to calf, lacks the series title leaf preceding the title leaf, a very good copy. An attractive copy of this classic. (#177388).

Price: $350.00