SALAMMBO A Story of Ancient Carthage

First Edition with these illustrations, and one of 800 copies only. Illustrated throughout with full-page plates and line drawings to the borders of nearly every page by Alexander King. Large Quarto, bound in publisher's original brown calf, the spine decoratively lettered in silver in an all over design, all edges gilt, housed in the original slipcase. [vi], 348, [2] pp. a handsome and pleasing copy in very well preserved condition, the binding in very good order with just a touch of rubbing to the tip of the spine, the book tight and strong, the text and illustrations all in fine condition, the slipcase with some wear.

Edizione: powerful illustrations throughout. flaubert's second novel and the first to be translated into english. after the first punic war, carthage is unable to fulfill promises made to its army of mercenaries, and finds itself under attack. the fictional title character, a priestess and the daughter of hamilcar barca, an aristocratic carthaginian general, is the object of the obsessive lust of matho, a leader of the mercenaries.<br> the book, which flaubert researched painstakingly, is largely an exercise in sensuous and violent exoticism. following the success of madame bovary, it was another best-seller and sealed his reputation. the carthaginian costumes described therein even left traces on the fashions of the time.