MARGUERITE DE NAVARRE.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Contes et nouvelles. An attractively bound set of the author's most famous work, a collection of 72 provocative novellas inspired by Boccaccio's Decameron. Commonly known as the Heptameron, it was hailed by Tilley as being "with Pantagruel the most characteristic book of the early French Renaissance".Regarded by Samuel Putnam as the "first modern woman", Marguerite de Navarre (1492-1549) was a key patron of the arts and intellectuals, a prominent figure in the French court, and a staunch advocate for religious reform. She was Queen consort of Navarre, grandmother to King Henry IV, the first Bourbon King, and the sister of King Francis I. She produced an impressive literary output, including letters, plays, and poetry such as Miroir de l'ame pecheresse which was translated into English by a young Elizabeth I at age 11.Published posthumously in 1558, the Heptameron was intended to be 100 stories over 10 days but was left unfinished when she died. It consists of tales told by ten travellers stranded by a flood. Beneath their entertaining surface, they are scathing critiques of society, the place of women, and the Church. The tales are believed to be inspired by real events and people. One of the best-known novellas is the fourth, a story of sexual assault which is believed to be based on an attack Marguerite experienced in her youth and never officially denounced.As Marguerite never finished the eighth day, two short stories from Antonio Francesco Grazzini's (1503-1584) work Le

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.