El Subterraneo o La Matilde. Novela Compuesta en Ingles por Mistress Lee, Traducida al Castellano

Madrid: Imprenta de la Viuda e Hijo Marin, 1795. Good.. Three volumes. [8],359; [2],237; [2],342pp. Contemporary mottled calf, spines gilt with leather label. Light wear to spine ends and corners. Contemporary ownership inscriptions on front endpapers. Faint dampstaining to first and second volumes, moderate to heavy in the third. First Spanish edition of an Englishwoman's early gothic novel, The Recess; or, A Tale of Other Times, first published in 1783-1785. The author, Sophia Lee (1750-1824) was an author and educator, and the present title is considered a pioneering work of historical fiction. The story centers on the fictional daughters of Mary Queen of Scots, dealing with political intrigue. The work was apparently quite popular, going through several English, Irish, and French editions in the first ten years of publication, as well as one in Germany. An edition was published in Mexico City the same year as this first Spanish edition was published in Madrid. We locate one copy of this edition in U.S. institutions, at the University of Michigan; four in Spanish libraries. The present copy has two contemporary ownership inscriptions belonging to women, both written in English. (Inventory #: 5645)