BARBOT de VILLENEUVE (Gabrielle-Suzanne): La Jardinière de V - Lot 10

BARBOT de VILLENEUVE (Gabrielle-Suzanne): La Jardinière de Vincennes. London, 1784. 2 vols. in-12 contemporary half calf, smooth spine decorated (scattered freckles, two leaves a little unbound). New revised and corrected edition. The original edition appeared in 1753. "La Jardinière de Vincennes is Mme de Villeneuve's masterpiece" (Grente). Mme de Villeneuve (1695-1755), a young widow without a fortune, settled in Paris and sought resources in literature. Crébillon fils noticed her early writings, encouraged her and befriended her. She is the original author of the tale La Belle et la Bête, which Mme Le Prince de Beaumont has only tastefully summarized. A good copy, complete in two volumes.