11th Sep, 2019 10:30 GMT/BST
Books, Maps & Ephemera
190
Lee, Nathaniel The Rival Queens or the Death of Alexander the Great. J. Magnes and R. Bentley,...
The Rival Queens or the Death of Alexander the Great. J. Magnes and R. Bentley, 1677. 8vo, paper wrappers; pp. [8 (title page defective, lacking one page of Epistle Dedicatory)], 64 [66, two leaves numbered 25-26], [2 (Epilogue)]; provenance: small ink stamp of Penzance Library on Epistle Dedicatory page, ink MSS note on ffep states it was purchased from "John Kinsman, Penzance" in 1879. First edition. With a dedicatory verse to Lee by Dryden and prologue written by Sir Charles Scroop.
Lee was a dramatist, possibly under the patronage of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. This blank verse tragedy about Roxana's jealousy for Statira made Lee's reputation. His success was matched by excess - much in the company of the infamous Rochester - and he died of a drunken fit before his 40th birthday. He spent time in Bedlam, summing up his situation as follows: "They called me mad, and I called them mad, and damn them, they outvoted me."
Sold for £60
Estimated at £60 - £80
Loss to title page, one page of Epistle Dedicatory lacking, page corners folded, pages toned and occasionally spotted.
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