Red cloth binding with gilt title on the spine. Translated by H. Van Laun. Dimensions are for one volume.

No. 1 of a 250 limited edition.

• We provide an in-depth photographic presentation of this item to stimulate your feeling and touch. More traditional book descriptions are immediately available

Note: This book carries a £5.00 discount to those that subscribe to the F.B.A. mailing list

Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Signed limited edition No 1, and dedicated by the translator. Quality engravings throughout with tissue guards.

Gil Blas ( L’Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane) is a picaresque novel by Alain-René Lesage published between 1715 and 1735. It was highly popular, and was translated several times into English, most notably by Tobias Smollett in 1748 as The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane.

Plot summary: Gil Blas is born in misery to a stablehand and a chambermaid of Santillana in Cantabria, and is educated by his uncle. He left Oviedo at the age of seventeen to attend the University of Salamanca. His bright future is suddenly interrupted when he is forced to help robbers along the route and is faced with jail.

He becomes a valet and, over the course of several years, is able to observe many different classes of society, both lay and clerical. Because of his occupation, he meets many disreputable people and is able to adjust to many situations, thanks to his adaptability and quick wit.

He finally finds himself at the royal court as a favorite of the king and secretary to the prime minister. Working his way up through hard work and intelligence, Gil is able to retire to a castle to enjoy a fortune and a hard-earned honest life.