Gallizier, Under the Witches’ Moon
Gallizier, Under the Witches' Moon
|
Gallizier, Nathan Under the Witches’ Moon. A romantic tale of mediaeval Rome. Boston, The Page Company 1917. 8°. VIII, [2], 455, [5], 10 pages with a colour frontispiece, an illustrated title page and 3 colour plates by Margaret West Kinney and Troy Sylvanus Kinney. Publisher’s decorated cloth with gold-embossed titles on the spine and front cover, and a front cover illustration in black, gold and red. Bleiler, The Checklist of Fantastic Literature 122. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 677. Nitka Collection of Fantastic Fiction (UCLA) 1605, Box 74. – First edition, first impression. – Signed by N. Gallizier. – The pilgrim Tristan of Avalon travels to the Eternal City to atone for his forbidden love for Hellayne – the wife of his feudal lord. Once there, however, Tristan quickly becomes entangled in a dense web of power struggles, passion and betrayal. He encounters the influential ‘Courtesan Queen of the Aventine’, is appointed commander of Castel Sant’Angelo by Senator Alberich, and must stand his ground against the sinister machinations of Grand Chamberlain Basil. – *Under the Witches’ Moon* marks the conclusion, or late climax, of a series of Gallizier’s novels set in Italy. He had previously explored similar themes in *The Sorceress of Rome* (1907) and *The Hill of Venus* (1913), all of which revolve around the ambivalence between Christian asceticism (pilgrimage) and worldly, often sinful passion. The book is a classic example of turn-of-the-century American historical romance. Unlike the European historical novel, which was often socially critical (as in the works of Walter Scott or Victor Hugo), the American trend of this period focused on escapism, melodrama and a rich atmosphere. Gallizier was known for combining meticulous historical research with highly imaginative, emotional tales of love and adventure. – Featuring beautiful Art Nouveau illustrations by the famous American artist couple Troy Kinney (1871–1938) and Margaret West Kinney (1872–1952), who were among the leading illustrators. As well as Nathan Gallizier’s lavish historical novels, they designed, amongst other things, book covers for Harper’s Bazaar magazine and illustrations for prominent authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle (for his historical novel *Sir Nigel*). Their shared passion was dance, which is why, in 1914, they wrote and illustrated the seminal work *The Dance: Its Place in Art and Life*, which remains well-known to this day. – The front cover has a small grease stain in the bottom right-hand corner, contemporary owner’s inscription in German (″Erhalten vom Autor am 15 August 1919 …“), a very good copy.
Unser Preis: EUR 140,-- |