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218 - [MANUSCRIPT] - RAVENSTEIN (Pseudonym of REISET (Adèle, Baron…
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
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Description
[MANUSCRIPT] - RAVENSTEIN (Pseudonym of REISET (Adèle, Baroness of). Signed autograph manuscript. The Young Queen of Denmark or Adultery, by Baroness Adèle de Ravenstein, author of Atale, Iolande etc. A beautiful original manuscript, never published, of a ‘banned’ novel written under a pseudonym by a woman of letters and salon hostess of the Romantic era. S.L., circa 1840. In-8 volume (200 x 155 mm), green half-maroquin, smooth spine decorated with blind-stamped and gilt lines, title ‘L’Adultère’ in gilt letters. (Contemporary binding). 592 pp. Some wear to the binding from handling. A fine manuscript in black ink, in regular handwriting with very few erasures and corrections. ‘La jeune reine de Danemark’ is a romantic novel that meticulously traces the fate of a woman and prominent European aristocrat, torn between marital duty and an adulterous passion. A ‘disturbing’ subject that runs counter to the conventions of 19th-century bourgeois and aristocratic society. Through her story, Adèle de Reiset—writing under the pseudonym Adèle de Ravenstein—explores the pain of remorse (as evoked in Mme Cottin’s epigraph) and the consequences of a life surrendered to passion, echoing Goethe’s warning: “An idle life is a death in advance”, the phrase with which the novel begins. Adèle de Reiset (1796–1853), a baroness and woman of letters, left her mark on her era by hosting a literary salon at the Château de la Cour du Bois, in the Sarthe region, near La Ferté-Bernard. Her salon welcomed figures such as the poetess Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, as well as politicians, poets and artists. Born into an aristocratic family, she received a thorough education that nurtured her passion for literature and history. She wrote several works blending history and fiction, of which only four were published: *La Folle de Pirna* (1844), *Iolande ou l’Orgueil au XVe siècle* (1834), Atale de Mombard or My Campaign in Algiers, Nathalie or The Five Ages of Woman (3 volumes), Émérance or Chronicle of the Time of Charles Martel (1847), and Blanche, Chronicle of the Time of Philip Augustus (1850). A fine copy of this little-known work by Baroness Adèle de Reiset.
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About the sale Fine antique and collectible books, manuscripts and modern illustrated works
Auction location
Auction time 06/29/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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