[Rarebooks] Offering: Important Early Fantasy Novel, 1825

[Michael John Thompson]

Offering:


Fouque, Baron Frederick de la Motte. THE MAGIC RING; A Romance. From the

German. In Three Volumes. Edinburgh: Published by Oliver & Boyd,
Tweeddale-Court: And Geo. B. Whittaker, London. 1825. 1st edition in
English.

Three volumes, octavo, 19th century half red morocco over marbled
boards, spine with 5 raised bands and titled in gilt, top edges gilt.
Half-titles present in all three volumes. Some light wear & ubbing,
front board of volume one shows some significant scratching to the
marbled paper on the front panel. A solid, clean, very good set.

A long, involved, early epic fantasy novel. "The Magic Ring (Der
Zauberring, 1813)... has as its central motif a magic ring that conveys
worldly power. The ring is eventually destroyed by being cast into the
flames. The story is complex, with a wealth of adventures, magical and
otherwise, around the medieval world and many fine supernatural ideas,
including a magic garden like Kundry's in Wagner's Parsifal as well as
magic mirrors. The Magic Ring seems to be the ultimate source for the
idea behind Wagner's RING Cycle and Tolkien's work. An early Victorian
translation into English was not well done and, in any case, is
impossible to find." - Sullivan, The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and
the Supernatural.

RARE. One copy at auction in the past 25 years, sold to Ferret Fantasy.
That copy is listed in SPECTRUM OF FANTASY II, page 46.

$1500 US

http://www.mjtbooks.com/images/ring01.jpg
http://www.mjtbooks.com/images/ring02.jpg
http://www.mjtbooks.com/images/ring03.jpg
http://www.mjtbooks.com/images/ring04.jpg


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Michael John Thompson
Thompson Rare Books
950 Fort Street
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada V8V 3K2
Telephone: 250-384-9977
http://www.mjtbooks.com