1874 · London
by Guerini, Giovanni
London: Chapman and Hall, 1874. 8vo. 230 x 145 mm., [9 x 5 ½ inches]. viii, 261 pp. Printed on stiff paper stock. Bound in publishers green cloth, decorated with fillet borders in black on the covers, title in gilt in spine; minor wear to the lower joint, a bit rubbed, but otherwise a very good copy.
First edition in English of Guerini’s Trenta Novelle (1873), a collection of short stories translated into English by his students, most of them young women. The year following the appearance of Trenta Novelle, and a positive reception of the work by the Queen of England, Chapman and Hall decided to publish edition of his students translations under the title Fireside Entertainments. There is a suggestion that this was self-published by Guerini in a small edition, resulting in so few copies being located in reference bibliographies and library collections. The stiff paper used in the printing is also unusual and not a staple of Chapman and Hall’s production practices.
The translators include Angelina Acland (2 stories), Mrs. William Barnet (2 stories), May Faudel Barnet (3 story), Alice Benham (2 story), Miss Godman (2 stories ), Lady Mary Hervey (2 stories), Lord Francis Hervey (2 story), Miss Murray (2 stories), George Willis Penson (2 stories), Catherine Mary Phillimore (3 stories), Isabelle Pyemont (2 stories), Miss De Stern (2 stories), Helen De Stern (2 stories), Minna Vivian (2 stories). The stories range from historical tales, biographies of Italian dukes soldiers, and princesses, and folk tales. One can commiserate with the young English translators as the fluidity of the language suggests intermediate skills and struggles to get the phraseology correct. But on the whole, very good work, indeed.
Lord Francis Hervey and his sister Lady Mary are the most prominent members of this group of translators. Lady Mary translated the longest story, “The Uncle from America”, a family saga of a young man leaving his father and older brothers to find his fortune in the new world. Angelina Acland, presumably the noted English photographer, translated two stories, “Ruben’s Studio” a tall tale of Ruben’s students violating the sanctity of his private studio, and a young Van Dyke offering changes to a portrait of the Virgin that Ruben’s had as yet to finish. The second story, “Not at Home”, a story of acquaintances avoiding each other during the New Year’s celebration.
Rare: OCLC cites four copies and none in the United States. No biographical information in either Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani or the Dictionary of National Biography. Not cited in the Wolff catalogue, Nineteenth-Century Literature. . (Inventory #: 1318)
First edition in English of Guerini’s Trenta Novelle (1873), a collection of short stories translated into English by his students, most of them young women. The year following the appearance of Trenta Novelle, and a positive reception of the work by the Queen of England, Chapman and Hall decided to publish edition of his students translations under the title Fireside Entertainments. There is a suggestion that this was self-published by Guerini in a small edition, resulting in so few copies being located in reference bibliographies and library collections. The stiff paper used in the printing is also unusual and not a staple of Chapman and Hall’s production practices.
The translators include Angelina Acland (2 stories), Mrs. William Barnet (2 stories), May Faudel Barnet (3 story), Alice Benham (2 story), Miss Godman (2 stories ), Lady Mary Hervey (2 stories), Lord Francis Hervey (2 story), Miss Murray (2 stories), George Willis Penson (2 stories), Catherine Mary Phillimore (3 stories), Isabelle Pyemont (2 stories), Miss De Stern (2 stories), Helen De Stern (2 stories), Minna Vivian (2 stories). The stories range from historical tales, biographies of Italian dukes soldiers, and princesses, and folk tales. One can commiserate with the young English translators as the fluidity of the language suggests intermediate skills and struggles to get the phraseology correct. But on the whole, very good work, indeed.
Lord Francis Hervey and his sister Lady Mary are the most prominent members of this group of translators. Lady Mary translated the longest story, “The Uncle from America”, a family saga of a young man leaving his father and older brothers to find his fortune in the new world. Angelina Acland, presumably the noted English photographer, translated two stories, “Ruben’s Studio” a tall tale of Ruben’s students violating the sanctity of his private studio, and a young Van Dyke offering changes to a portrait of the Virgin that Ruben’s had as yet to finish. The second story, “Not at Home”, a story of acquaintances avoiding each other during the New Year’s celebration.
Rare: OCLC cites four copies and none in the United States. No biographical information in either Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani or the Dictionary of National Biography. Not cited in the Wolff catalogue, Nineteenth-Century Literature. . (Inventory #: 1318)
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