The Story of Doctor Manente being the Tenth and Last Story from the Suppers of A.F. Grazzini Called Il Lasca
Price: $400.00
Hard Cover. Florence: G. Orioli, 1929. First Limited Edition. Good.
Translation and Introduction by D. H. Lawrence. Illustrated with three plates including a frontispiece portrait of Grazzini. First limited edition. One of 200 special copies signed by Lawrence and numbered on Binda handmade paper, this being number 84. From a total limitation of 1,200. Publisher's cream-colored paper-covered boards, with a red fleur-de-lis to front cover, and spine lettered in red. Good, with a horizontal tear to paper on front and rear boards, an inch of loss at foot and head of spine, repair to head of spine, heavy toning to spine (red lettering completely faded) and edges of boards, uncut pages, previous owner's bookplate to front pastedown, and Gotham Book Mart ticket to rear pastedown. Overall, a sturdy copy, very fresh internally. This story from Italian Renaissance writer A. F. Grazzini's Le Cene (The Suppers) is, according to D. H. Lawrence, "a magnificent account of what is perhaps the best Florentine beffa (prank) on record." Le Cene is a collection of short stories written in the bawdy style of Boccaccio. Grazzini's literary works "reflect his disenchanted, self-seeking age and exhibit the lustiness and vicious sting of his writings and the love he reveals for the ruthlessly cruel, whether in deeds of horror or pitiless jests" (Britannica). Notably, the publisher of The Story of Doctor Manente, Giuseppe Orioli, also published the unexpurgated edition of Lawrence's highly controversial novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928). D. H. Lawrence's life and work were shaped considerably by Italian culture. He translated works by Italian author Giovanni Verga into English, including Mastro Don-Gesualdo and Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Stories, and wrote three travel books set in Italy: Twilight in Italy (1916), Sea and Sardinia (1921), Sketches of Etruscan Places (1932). Item #DHL065
