LEWIS, MATTHEW GREGORY. 1775-1818.
Romantic Tales. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees & Orme, 1808.
4 volumes. 12mo (183 x 99 mm). Publisher's quarter purple cloth and drab boards, paper spine labels, contained in individual red cloth chemises and single morocco and cloth slipcase with gilt titles on spine. Spines sunned, light spotting and browning.
FIRST EDITION, without the publisher's catalog at the end of volume 4, as sometimes found. Lewis, who had achieved fame with the publication of The Monk in 1796, assembled this collection adapted from German, Spanish and French Gothic stories. His work greatly influenced other Gothic romance writers, including Walpole, Byron, and Mary and Percy Shelly.