Philadelphia: Carey, Lea and Blanchard, 1833. First American Edition; two volumes; original publisher’s muslin backed boards with paper labels. Owner’s signatures at the top of each upper board; some rubbing and chipping of the spine labels; minor foxing and staining; overall, an attractive set in original condition; in a custom clamshell box. Shelley herself, in the preface, describes how this book came to be written: “It is a subject also of additional interest to the author, that this story was begun in the majestic region where the story is principally laid, and in society which cannot cease to be regretted. I passed the summer of 1816 in the environs of Geneva. The season was cold and rainy, and in the evenings we crowded around a blazing wood fire, and occasionally amused ourselves with some German stories of ghosts...These tales excited in us a playful desire of imitation. Two other [Byron & Shelley] friends (a tale from the pen of one of who would be far more acceptable to the public than any thing I can ever hope to produce) and myself agreed to write each a story, found on some supernatural occurrence. The weather, however, suddenly became serene; and my two friends left me on a journey among the Alps, and lost, in the magnificent scenes which they present, all memory of their ghostly visions. The following tale is the only one which has been completed.” The book was published in England in 1818, and, although the author wrote several other books, this is her most important contribution to literature. However, this one story is an amazing achievement, especially considering that the author lacked formal schooling and was only 21 years old when she wrote this novel. No other writer even came close to equaling this in the horror genre for many decades, and it remains unsurpassed today.

[Book #19987P]