The Plays of Clara Gazul, a Spanish Comedian; With Memoirs of her Life

Book Description

London: Printed for Geo. B. Whittaker, 1825. [iii]-xiii, [i], 326, [2]pp., 8vo. Apparently bound without the half-title. Contemporary half calf, spine gilt; rubbed and with the spine head a bit chipped. First edition in English, published in France earlier the same year, and the first of Mérimée’s literary hoaxes: “Clara Gazul, the Spanish Comedian” did not exist. After writing what one critic calls “these highly Romantic works, he turned to writing the short novels which were to bring him lasting fame.” Among the latter was Carmen, which became still better known in the form of Bizet’s opera.

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