[Rarebooks] fa: MEMOIRS OF THE REIGNS OF FRANCIS II AND CHARLES IX OF FRANCE - Michel de Castlenau - 1724

[ArCh]

Auction ends Sunday, November 12. Images and more details can be found at the URL below or by searching for the seller name arch_in_la. 

https://tinyurl.com/2967mnka

Many thanks,
Ardwight Chamberlain
Ann Arbor, MI, USA


Michel de Castelnau: Memoirs of the Reigns of Francis II. and Charles IX. of France. Containing A Particular Account of the Three First Civil Wars Raised and Carried on by the Huguenots in that Kingdom. Wherein the most Remarkable Passages in the Reigns of King Henry VIII of England, Queen Elizabeth, and the Unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots, are set in a True Light. By Michael de Castelnau... Who was Ambassador for Ten Years at the Court of Queen Elizabeth, and principally concern'd in the Secret Transactions of those Times. Done into English by a Gentleman, and publish'd for his Benefit. London: [s.n.] Printed in the Year MDCCXXIV [1724]. First edition in English. Folio (35 cm) in early/period calf; [2] + 426 pp.; woodcut head- and tail-pieces and initials. Lowndes 386.

Michel de Castelnau, sieur de la Mauvissière (c.1520-1592) was a French soldier and diplomat who figured prominently in the history of the French Civil Wars and French-English diplomatic relations. He accompanied Mary Queen of Scots on her return to Scotland from France in 1560 and remained her close confidant for the next twenty-five years, often corresponding with her in cipher. Meanwhile, he served as ambassador to the court of Queen Elizabeth I and carried out various diplomatic missions for the kings of France. "His Memoirs rank very high among the original authorities for the period they cover... They were written during his last embassy in England for the benefit of his son; and they possess the merits of clearness, veracity and impartiality."

Externally a bit rough, but internally Very Good: rubbing and wear to the boards with losses to the leather along the edges and front joint, the joints cracked but both boards are secure; occasional light dust-soling and cockling to the edges of the leaves, faint damp-stain to the last few leaves, otherwise the contents are very clean, bright and fresh.