Chroniques de France. La Comtesse de Salisbury.

4 volumes in 2 books in-12; half marbled brown calf, spine with raised bands and gilt decoration, yellow edges. Contemporary binding made for the Duchess of Berry.

150 x 97 mm.

Dumas, Alexandre. Chronicles of France. The Countess of Salisbury.

Brussels and Leipzig, 1839-1849.

4 volumes in 2 in-12; half marbled brown calf, spine with raised bands decorated, yellow edges. Period binding made for the Duchess of Berry.

150 x 97 mm.

First Brussels edition of an extremely rare early historical novel by Alexandre Dumas.

The last two volumes having been printed nearly 10 years after the first two, it is rare to find a complete set with all volumes in period binding (1839 and 1849).

One day in September 1338, in the castle of Edward III, King of England, Count Robert of Artois, seeking revenge for his banishment by the King of France, Philip of Valois, challenges the King of England to claim the throne of France, to which he would have right by his mother. This is the beginning of the Hundred Years' War.

At first, King Edward approaches the leaders of Europe to seek their support before launching the offensive. But troubles at his borders with Scotland force him to return to his country without, however, putting an end to hostilities.

He then passes through the castle of Wark, where the beautiful Alix, Countess of Salisbury, resides. Her husband, one of Edward III's most devoted nobles, has just been taken prisoner by the French. But as the king is deeply in love with the countess, he does not hurry to begin negotiations for the count's release.

It is only after the first truce with France, ratified by the Treaty of Tournai, that Edward, having confessed his love to Alix and realizing he is without hope, decides to initiate talks to exchange the Count of Salisbury for another hostage. However, the count has little time to enjoy his wife's company as Edward dispatches him on a mission as soon as he returns, in order to rally the Count of Normandy to his cause and secure direct access to France.

His task accomplished, the Count of Salisbury finds his wife mourning her honor—cowardly stolen by King Edward. Suffering and a desire for revenge then consume the count's heart, and he warns the King of France of the Normans' betrayal before disappearing. The countess, for her part, poisons herself before Edward's eyes, thus atoning for a fault she did not commit...

Edward hurls himself with abandon into the struggle against the French, winning victory at the Battle of Crécy and then the siege of the city of Calais... The following years alternate between battles and truces, unbroken by the death of Philip of Valois. King Edward dies in June 1376 after having received the forgiveness of the Count of Salisbury, who comes out of seclusion for the occasion.

The Countess of Salisbury is one of Dumas's earliest historical novels and also one of the first serialized novels in literature, published in "La presse" from July to September 1836.

A precious and very beautiful copy, without foxing, of the Duchess of Berry, heroine of several of Dumas's novels, from her personal library at the Château de Brunsee.

The Duchess of Berry, widowed at 22, lived in Venice and died on April 17, 1870, at the Château de Brunsee in Styria. This princess, with highly developed artistic tastes, had put together a select reading cabinet of the main contemporary novels, which she especially favored during her Austrian retreat at Brunsee: Balzac, Dumas, Sue, etc.

The Duchess of Berry appears several times in the work of Alexandre Dumas, notably in "Les Louves de Machecoul," "La Vendée et Madame," and "Dieu Dispose."