This is an auction for MADEMOISELLE DE MAUPIN by Theophile Gautier, (1811-72).

This is a Folio Society book, illustrated by Mark Severin.

Amazon.com reviews:

"Chevalier d'Albert fantasizes about his ideal lover, yet every woman he meets falls short of his exacting standards of female perfection. Embarking on an affair with the lovely Rosette to ease his boredom, he is thrown into tumultuous confusion when she receives a dashing young visitor. Exquisitely handsome, Théodore inspires passions d'Albert never believed he could feel for a man - and Rosette also seems to be in thrall to the charms of her guest. Does this bafflingly alluring person have a secret to hide? Subversive and seductive, Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835) draws readers into the bedrooms and boudoirs of a French château in a compelling exploration of desire and sexual intrigue."

"FIVE STARS!! The long preface of this novel is more famous than the novel itself, but let us talk about the novel. It is not clear just when the action takes place, somewhere between 1650 and 1835, but it doesn't really take place in a particular period, nor does it take place in the real world. It is a sort of fantasy in spite of not having any supernatural elements. Gautier worshipped the beauty of the physical and artistic worlds, which is the point of the novel. He tends to identify beauty with female beauty, but there are also swans and roses and nightingales and the moon and so much else. It is the most romantic novel ever written."

More very favourable reviews on Amazon.com.

Hardback 1950.

208 pages.

Illustrated with contemporary portraits and engravings.

Good condition.

The cost of shipping is $5.50.

There is of course no charge for shipping if you collect this book from my shop in Palmerston North following the auction.

Payment within seven days, please.