PRUDENCE PALFREY; A NOVEL
PRUDENCE PALFREY; A NOVEL
PRUDENCE PALFREY; A NOVEL
PRUDENCE PALFREY; A NOVEL

PRUDENCE PALFREY; A NOVEL

(Boston: James R. Osgood & Co., 1874).

A UNIQUE ITEM. THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS NOVEL BY ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS WRITERS OF THE 19TH CENTURY, INSCRIBED BY ALDRICH TO MARK TWAIN, HIS FRIEND.
Twain first met Aldrich, after corresponding for some months, in November 1871. From that day forward the two enjoyed a lifelong friendship. Twain once said he “could not admire” Aldrich’s “The Story of a Bad Boy” (published 1869) but it is clearly a model for “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, and Twain credited it as his inspiration for that novel. In his autobiography Twain praised Aldrich’s brilliant conversation, remarking that he had no peer for “pithy and witty and humorous sayings.” Twain’s autobiography is famous for the LACK of praise he heaped upon his contemporaries, it is thus clear that his affection for Aldrich was genuine. Twain was in attendance at Aldrich’s memorial service in 1908.
At the top of his career Aldrich outranked both Twain and Walt Whitman in popularity, his light verse and witty stories delighted the literary public who considered him an equal to Longfellow, Lowell and Holmes in the canon of American Literature, an honor Twain would have to wait many more years to achieve.
“Beginning with the collection of stories entitled Marjorie Daw and Other People (1873), Aldrich wrote works of realism and quiet humor. His novels Prudence Palfrey (1874), The Queen of Sheba (1877), and The Stillwater Tragedy (1880) had more dramatic action. The first portrayed Portsmouth with the affectionate touch shown in the shorter humorous tale, A Rivermouth Romance (1877).”. Item #24273

First Edition and a copy with superb provenance, A PRESENTATION COPY FROM ALDRICH TO MARK TWAIN, INSCRIBED ON THE FRONT BLANK: “MARK, FROM HIS FRIEND T.B.A.” And with the additional ownership provenance of the Estelle Doheny collection with her bookplate present. 8vo, publisher’s original green cloth, the lettering in gilt as issued, in a nice cloth folding protective box. 311 pp. A very pleasing copy of a unique item, neatly restored at some time in the distant past.

Price: $6,750.00