Paul and Virginia, J. Bernardin H. de Saint Pierre; Helen Maria Williams, 1828

A charming pocket‑sized 1828 edition of Paul and Virginia, the enduring pastoral romance by Jacques‑Henri Bernardin de Saint‑Pierre, here translated into English by the writer and translator Helen Maria Williams, whose sympathetic literary style helped popularise the tale among English readers. First published in 1788, the novella tells a story of innocence, love, and tragic loss on the island of Mauritius and became a quintessential emblem of late 18th‑ and early 19th‑century sentimental literature.

Paul and Virginia; Translated from the French of J. Bernardin H. de Saint Pierre; by Helen Maria Williams.

Published by John Sharpe, London, 1828. Printed by C. & C. Whittingham, Chiswick.

A good full brown morocco leather hardback with elaborate gilt decoration to covers and spine. The spine with raised bands and gilt title. Joints and extremities are rubbed and worn, but all soundly bound. Endpapers partially cracked at inner hinges. Small bookseller's label to first pastedown.

Text is generally bright and clean. The pictorial title is foxed, also with some spotting to main title. Other Plates with some spotting - mostly marginal. Gilt edges to text block.

Text in English.

viii + 166pp + 4 engraved Plates with tissue guards in the text, and an additional guarded preliminary pictorial title.

Weight approximately 134g (unpacked).

Approx Dimensions: 138mm high x 94mm wide x 10mm deep.