Description
MARIVAUX.
L’Isle des esclaves, a comedy in one act.
Paris: Noël Pissot, Pierre Delormel, François Flahaut, 1725. — In-12, 161 x 95: 67 pp., (2 ff.). Removed from its original binding and set in an old marbled paper cover.
Tchémerzine, IV, p. 405
A rare first edition of this prose comedy, first performed by the King’s Italian actors on 5 March 1725. It is one of the earliest plays to tackle slavery and social injustices with humour.
It tells the story of two couples (a nobleman and his slave (Iphicrate and Arlequin), and a noblewoman and her maid (Euphrosine and Cléanthis)) who are shipwrecked on an island where the roles are reversed: the masters become slaves, and the slaves, masters. The experiment, orchestrated by Trivelin (the island’s governor), aims to make them understand the absurdity of oppression. After clumsy attempts at domination, the former slaves choose forgiveness rather than revenge. The play concludes with a moral lesson: ‘The difference in circumstances is but a trial.’
A unbound copy, set in an antique marbled paper cover. The top corner of the title page is discoloured.
Provenance:
A modern bookplate bearing the initials JA.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
Auction location
Auction time
10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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