{"title":"Classic Romance","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Austen's witty courtships to the Brontës' tempestuous passions, these novels have shaped how we understand love across centuries. This collection features first editions and finely bound copies of literature's most enduring romantic works—Pride and Prejudice, Wives and Daughters, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and signed editions including Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Each volume represents a different vision of love: Gothic intensity, social comedy, tragic devotion, or forbidden desire. Perfect for collectors seeking literature's most celebrated explorations of the human heart.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"barbara-cartland-first-editions-signed-105557","title":"A collection of 18 first editions in the original paperback format:","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003einscribed by the author\u003c\/h4\u003eA selection of Cartland's famous historical romances each with her signed presentation inscription, in pink or red ink, to the inside of the front wrappers, to her neighbour Susie. Some are simply signed, 'with love, Barbara'. These paperback originals are seldom found in such nice condition and are rare inscribed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e18 volumes. First editions, first impressions, inscribed by the author. 8vo. Publisher's pictorial wrappers. One or two spines a little faded but in very good, largely unread condition\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"CARTLAND, Barbara.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45547292262705,"sku":"105557","price":975.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/105557_2316c355-9a36-490c-8594-37b99c02048a.jpg?v=1780911240"},{"product_id":"nizami-ganjavi-india-manuscript-114391","title":"Leila wa Majnun,","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eKashmiri book illustration\u003c\/h4\u003eA charming provincial Kashmiri manuscript, illustrated with paintings in the text of scenes from Nizami's famous romantic tragedy Leila wa Majnun.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSingle volume, illuminated manuscript on paper, in Farsi, with illustrations in the text, 165 x 100 mm.; double column, between 9 and 10 lines of black nasta'liq, text sometimes appearing in horizontal lines to form geometric shapes in the text, opening two leaves of text with polychrome decorations to borders, ornately painted with gilt additions, catch-words, leaves a little browned; housed in contemporary hand-painted and lacquered boards, outer edges a little worn.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"NIZAMI GANJAVI.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54827070816631,"sku":"114391","price":10000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/114391_f5eeceb4-3678-4aa4-b326-1a690d55ccaa.jpg?v=1780918944"},{"product_id":"elizabeth-gaskell-wives-daughters-first-116362","title":"Wives and Daughters","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003erare in the original, unrestored cloth\u003c\/h4\u003eWives and Daughters was first published in the Cornhill Magazine as a serial from August 1864 to January 1866. The story of Molly Gibson, the only daughter of a widowed doctor living in a provincial English town in the 1830s and her ultimate attraction of Roger Hamley, the younger son of the local Squire and her social superior. The final section of the book was unfinished at the time of Gaskell's sudden death in 1865, although she had related to a friend that she intended Roger to return and present Molly with a dried flower (a gift Molly had given him before his departure to Africa), as proof of his enduring love. Frederick Greenwood wrote the last section on these lines. However, in the BBC adaptation of the novel, an alternative ending was written in which Roger finds himself unwilling to leave Molly without speaking to her of his love, and they marry and return to Africa together.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition in book form; 2 vols, lge 8vo (230 x 155 mm), with 18 plates by George du Maurier, occasional, marginal spotting, heavier to secondary endpapers, titles and frontispieces of both vols and pp 161-163 in vol. I, the first of these also has two minor, marginal pencil highlights, some quires split but firm, otherwise, the majority of leaves are clean and bright; publisher's burgundy gilt cloth, rubbed and bumped at extremities, minor dust-soiling generally but nothing that is not commensurate with age, in all a very good set; [iv], 336 +10 plates; [iv], 332 +8 plates.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSadleir 936; Wolff 2428\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"GASKELL, Mrs. [Elizabeth].","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55147026415991,"sku":"116362","price":2225.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/116362.jpg?v=1780913708"},{"product_id":"thomas-hardy-tess-durbevilles-first-edition-116415","title":"Tess of The D'Urbevilles","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eOnly 1000 copies were printed in the week beginning, 29th November, 1891 of this first impression of Tess of the d'Urbervilles and as was the case with many Victorian novels, most copies went to the lending libraries of the period. This set bears no sign of any library labels to the covers, thus it is one of the few examples to remain in its original state.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*The following first impression points are present: Vol. I, p.[v], line 12, have it said; vol. II, p.58, line 4, Valasquez; p.155, line 21, seampstress; p.199, Chapter XXV for XXXV; Vol. III, p. 112, line 24, are ye doing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It was subtitled A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented because Hardy felt that its heroine was a virtuous victim of a rigid Victorian moral code. Now considered Hardy's masterwork, it departed from conventional Victorian fiction in its focus on the rural lower-class and in its open treatment of sexuality and religion' (Britannica).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition,*first impression, the first publication in its entirety (an abridged version was published serially in the Graphic July-December 1891; 3 vols, 8vo (200 x 140 mm); all three title-pages are dated 1891 on the verso, very mild age-toning, the occasional light, marginal finger-soiling or spot; vol. I, tiny chip to fore-edge of 'Contents' page, quires at pp 48 and 176 split but firm, small marginal brown mark to upper margin of p. 92 and a few minor spots to bottom margins of 174 \u0026amp; 175, none affecting text; vol. II, split quire at pp160, 192, 208 \u0026amp; 224 but firm, two small areas of soiling to fore-edge of p.161, not affecting text; vol. III, split quires at pp 32, 80 \u0026amp;145, but firm, publisher's tan cloth gilt, upper covers blocked in gilt with two vertical wavy lines of honeysuckle and gold discs designed by Charles Ricketts, lightly soiled, mottling to endpapers,inner hinge split to upper board of vol. I, light stain to upper board of vol. III, slight shelt-lean to all three vols, otherwise a very good-plus 'unsophisticated' set (unrestored).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePurdey pp 67-78; Wolff 2993; Sadleir 1114.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"HARDY, Thomas.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55156838826359,"sku":"116415","price":5750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/116415.jpg?v=1780921885"},{"product_id":"sleeping-beauty-edmund-dulac-quiller-couch-120160","title":"The Sleeping Beauty","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eA sumptuous edition, exquisitely illustrated; the additional stories are: Blue Beard; Cinderella; Beauty and the Beast.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst Trade edition, first issue 4to, (309 x 250mm); mounted coloured frontispiece and 29 plates by Edmund Dulac, spotting and browning to endpapers and half-title (as usual), more so to rear ones, very occasional, minor spotting to some extremities of leaves, not affecting print or illustrations; publisher's chestnut morocco, decorative gilt panels to boards and spine, a trifle rubbed at extremities,spine dulled, otherwise remakably sound and bright; [WITH] advertisement leaf laid in, printed in red, announcing the sale of the original water-colour drawings by Dulac at the Leicester Galleries.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"DULAC, Edmund, (illustrator); QUILLER-COUCH, Arthur, (editor).","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55956375568759,"sku":"120160","price":500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/120160.jpg?v=1780921480"},{"product_id":"works-bronte-anne-charlotte-emily-thornton-117576","title":"The Novels of the Sisters Brontë","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eA highly regarded edition of the Brontë sisters' works, enhanced by Elizabeth Gaskell 's biography of her friend, Charlotte Brontë, who died in 1855 and whose biography Charlotte's father, Patrick Brontë, urged her to write. It is the first and only biography by someone who knew the author and was alive during her lifetime; written with warm-hearted admiration and sensitivity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Thornton' Edition; 12 vols, 8vo (22 x 15 cms); illustrated with frontispiece and monochrome plates throughout including portraits and photogravures, Jane Eyre (2 vols, 2 frontispieces and 9 plates), Wuthering Heights (1 vol, frontispiece and 4 plates), Agnes Grey (1 vol, frontispiece), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (2 vols, 2 frontispieces), Shirley (2 vols, 2 frontispieces and 10 plates), Villette (2 vols, 2 frontispieces and 4 plates), The Professor (1 vol, frontispiece and 3 plates), Mrs. Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë (1 vol, frontispiece and 25 plates), foxing to fore-edges, spotting to prelims as is typical, some otherwise scattered throughout the last title and pp 1-15 to the second, otherwise clean; uniform publisher's green cloth, spines with art nouveau style flower decorations lettered in gilt, top edges gilt, others uncut, minor signs of shelf wear, microscopic loss to front cloth of second title, gilt decoration remarkably intact, hence still a Very Good set.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"BRONTË, Charlotte, Emily and Anne.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56292554801527,"sku":"117576","price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/117576_52157f5b-7dd9-491b-a43b-c332fe867ede.jpg?v=1780922814"},{"product_id":"historical-romances-gothic-revival-ainsworth-121218","title":"Historical Romances","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eWilliam Ainsworth Harrison (1805-1882)was closely associated with the Gothic-Revival era, and his narrative style shared an affinity with Walter Scott. It is worth noting that he was commercially more successful than Charles Dickens in his day.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEdition des amis des arts, first state limited edition, number '6' of 10 COPIES; 25 vols plus supplementary portfolio of 74 plates, 4to (240 x 180 mm); illustrated with etchings in four states, within the relevant volumes: with colour facsimile title in each volume, with impressions of the historical portraits on india paper and with duplicates on papier de chine, with three impressions of the etchings on japan vellum, first state - remarque - after remarque, and one on dutch handmade paper, finished in watercolours, the plates on silk are largely after paintings by Hugh W. Ditzler, containing the extra illustrations published with this work, plates divided by tissue guards, many captioned in black lettering, remarkably good condition despite age-toning to page edges; contemporary full-green crushed levant, boards double-ruled in gilt, pastedowns inlaid with exuberantly decorative roses contained within green and pink leather bands, circulated by florid scrolls in gilt, blue moiré silk lining, brown leather spines gilt lettering, floral bouquets inlaid in leather to central compartment bordered with gilt dentures, all edges gilt, portfolio is housed in crushed green levant with gilt lettering to front and ruled in single-gilt, shelf worn to a degree, minor blemishes to silk moiré, minor rubbing, some scratch marks to surface area, faded lettering and bumped edges to a few volumes only, this remains a handsome and scarce set in very good condition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"AINSWORTH, William Harrison","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56326951043447,"sku":"121218","price":4500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/121218_66417e00-e9b2-4a28-a26c-d1fa2f6024dd.jpg?v=1780915183"},{"product_id":"jane-austen-novels-london-1948-121858","title":"The Novels.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eA handsome set in half red morocco of Jane Austen's six published novels, comprising Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion, together with her abandoned work The Watsons and her juvenile story Love and Friendship, which was first published in 1932.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e6 vols; 8vo (19 x 13 cm); occasional pencil annotations and notes, slight spotting throughout; contemporary half-red morocco, marbled paper boards, spines tooled and lettered in gilt, top-edges gilt, spines slightly darkened, a little rubbed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"AUSTEN, Jane.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56615452737911,"sku":"121858","price":2250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/121858.jpg?v=1780916215"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/collections\/Classic_Romance.png?v=1779291140","url":"https:\/\/shapero.com\/en-us\/collections\/classic-romance-valentines.oembed","provider":"Shapero Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}