first edition
1697 · London
by Jones, D[avid], Gent
London: R. Baldwin, 1697. First edition, small 8vo, pp. [14], 80, 80, 80, 64, 80, 110; contemporary paneled calf with tasteful modern rebacking and red morocco label on spine, extremities worn and boards a little splayed, but overall good and sound. Jones (fl. 1676-1720), a captain in the English Royal Regiment of Dragoons, spent much of his time on the continent, where he became fluent in modern languages and was appointed to serve the Marquis of Louvois. Jones published many works in his lifetime, but The Secret History is chief among them. It "consists of a series of letters purporting to have been written by Jones to an English peer between January 1676 and February 1689, and professes to divulge the secret diplomatic transactions that had passed between the English and French courts during the previous twenty years. Little reliance can, however, be placed on these pretensions" (DNB). Wing J934.
(Inventory #: 26432)