1857 Rare Victorian Book - JOAN OF ARC and Poems by Robert Southey Illustrated by John Gilbert.
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(Description)
Author: Robert Southey. Sir John Gilbert, illustrator.
Title: JOAN OF ARC, Ballads, Lyrics and Minor Poems, With illustrations by Sir John Gilbert.
Publisher: London, George Routledge and Co., 1857.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 6.5" X 4.5".
Pages : xxiv-469 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good contemporary full red Morocco leather binding with beautiful decorative paneling (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed and worn - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt.
Content: Good to very good content (bright, tight, and clean, staining in the outer margin of some of the illustration pages due to the different quality of paper - as shown, gift note of a previous 1861 owner on the second blank page - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with eight nice full-page illustrations by John Gilbert.
The book: Rare and attractive illustrated edition of Joan of Arc -- an epic poem composed by Robert Southey. The idea for the story came from a discussion between Southey and Grosvenor Bedford when Southey realized that the story would be suitable for an epic. The subject further appealed to Southey because the events of the French Revolution were concurrent with the writing of the poem and would serve as a parallel to current events. Eventually, Samuel Taylor Coleridge helped rewrite parts of the poem. Later editions removed Coleridge's additions along with other changes.
The author: Robert Southey (12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the Lake Poets along with William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and England's Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 until his death in 1843. Although his fame has been eclipsed by that of Wordsworth and Coleridge, his verse still enjoys some popularity.
The illustrator: Sir John Gilbert RA (21 July 1817 – 5 October 1897) was a famous English artist, illustrator and engraver.