Works of George Borrow, The

London: Constable & Co., 1923. The Norwich Edition of George Borrow
Number One of Only 775 Copies - Beautifully Bound by Bayntun-Rivière

BORROW, George. The Works of George Borrow. Edited, with much hitherto unpublished manuscript, by Clement Shorter. London: Constable & Co. Ltd.; New York: Gabriel Wells, 1923-1924.

The Norwich Edition. Limited to 775 numbered copies, this being copy number 1.

Sixteen octavo volumes (8 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches; 222 x 146 mm.). Title-pages printed in red and black throughout.

Handsomely bound circa 1950 by Bayntun-Rivière in three-quarter medium green morocco over green cloth boards ruled in gilt, spines with five raised bands decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt. A fine and elegant set in an especially pleasing postwar Bayntun-Rivière binding.

A distinguished edition of the works of one of the nineteenth century's most eccentric and compelling literary wanderers. Linguist, traveler, Bible salesman, folklorist, and novelist, George Borrow created books unlike any of his contemporaries - vivid, autobiographical narratives infused with gypsy lore, roadside adventures, linguistic curiosity, and a deep fascination with the margins of European society.

Borrow's enduring masterpieces include The Bible in Spain, his extraordinary account of travels through Spain while distributing Protestant scriptures; Lavengro and The Romany Rye, semi-autobiographical works blending memoir, fiction, and philosophical reflection; and Wild Wales, one of the great travel books of the Victorian era. His prose possesses a singular energy and immediacy, filled with colorful encounters, strange characters, and the romance of the open road.

Edited by Clement Shorter and incorporating previously unpublished manuscript material, the Norwich Edition remains one of the most important collected editions of Borrow's writings.

The present example, copy number one of the edition, gains additional distinction from its refined Bayntun-Rivière binding - a set equally attractive on the shelf and rewarding in content.