1806 Cassandra

Description

Author's Presentation Copy, First Edition, Folding Plates, Illustrated, Leather Binding, Signed, Very Scarce

The very scarce first edition of this translation.

Viscount Royston's presentation copy, inscribed by the translator to the recto to the front free endpaper, 'Right Honourable Lady Lucas, with Lord Royston's compliments'.

Lady Lucas was Amabel Hume-Campbell, the 1st Countess de Grey, and the 5th Baroness Lucas. Hume-Campbell was a diarist and political writer, noted for being both a countess and a baroness in her own right. Her diaries date from 1769 to 1827, and show her fervent interest in politics. If she had been a male, she would have been able to serve in the House of Lords as a Whig, a fact that caused her a lot of frustration, being unable to fulfil her interests simply because she was a woman. Growing up at Wrest Park, Hume-Campbell grew up in an intensely political and intellectual atmosphere. Most of her own political writings focus on the French Revolution. During her childhood Hume-Campbell was painted by Joshua Reynolds, and was later taught art by James Basire and Alexander Cozens.

'Cassandra' is a tragic poem in iambic trimeters, telling of Cassandra's prophecy about the later fortunes of Troy and the Greek and Trojan heroes.

This translation was highly praised by Richard Porson.

Illustrated with a folding table, 'Synopsis of the Speech of Cassandra'.

Originally written in Greek by Lycophron, a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet.

Translated into English by Philip Yorke, the Viscount Royston. Royston was a British traveller and politician, who embarked on a tour of Russia in 1806. In 1808, at the age of 23, Royston was lost in a storm off Memel, in a ship called the 'Agatha of Lubeck'.

Bookplate of Thomas de Grey, the 2nd Earl de Grey, to the front pastedown. De Grey was a Tory statesman, owning the country estate Wrest Park, which was partly built after his own designs after he inherited it from Amabel. He inherited the title of Earl de Grey from his maternal aunt, Amabel Hume-Campbell.

Bookplate of Edward John Kenney to the recto to the front free endpaper. Kenney was a noted British Latinist, who served as the Kennedy Professor of Latin. He specialised in textual criticism, and was a leading expert on the works of Ovid and Lucretius. Kenney had a unique test when he was interviewing candidates for the college, having his cat Fufu in the room during the interview, and judging the candidates on how they treated his cat. The more kindly they treated the cat the more likely they were to be admitted.