Idylls of the King. [Fore-edge Painting].

TENNYSON, Alfred.

$1,250.00

Item Number: 139723

London: Edward Moxon & Co, 1859.

First edition, second issue of one of the greatest and most enduring of Victorian literary works, with the imprint of Bradbury and Evans to the  verso of title. Octavo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, ribbon bound in, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting which reveals a view of Royal Tunbridge Wells. In very good condition. Ownership inscriptions.

With Idylls of the King, one of the giants of Victorian literature turned his considerable talents to the lore surrounding a larger-than-life British ruler. Alfred, Lord Tennyson cast his interpretation of Arthurian myth into the form of an epic poem, and his tales of Camelot soar to remarkable imaginative heights to trace the birth of a king; the founding, fellowship, and decline of the Round Table; and the king's inevitable departure. Encompassing romance, heroism, duty, and conflict, Tennyson's poetry charts the rise and fall of a legendary society. “By the early 19th century, the Arthurian legends had become a literary anachronism. Tennyson’s poetry brought about a rebirth of interest in the material and eventually placed it on a new plateau of respect and significance for writers and artists… Tennyson’s recreation of the Arthurian world is an attempt to reform his generation by showing the effects of sensuality, materialism and spiritual blindness” (Lacy, 446-49).