Eugène Sue - I Misteri del Popolo - 1868

Rare complete set of 5 original volumes of “I Misteri del Popolo o Storia di una Famiglia di Proletari lungo il Corso dei Secoli” by Eugène Sue, Italian edition contemporaneous to the first French edition. Published in Milan at the Libreria Editrice di Dante Alighieri by Enrico Politti (Poliglotta) between 1868 and 1870.
This edition is among the first Italian translations of the famous Sueae feuilleton (Les Mystères du Peuple), a historical-social novel that narrates the fortunes of a proletarian family through the centuries, from druidism to modern times, with strong criticisms of the clergy and of nascent capitalism. Also referenced by Umberto Eco in “Il Cimitero di Praga” for the famous “lettera dei Gesuiti.”[librinlinea +2]
General conditions: Good for the age (over 150 years).
• Contemporary bindings in half leather/marbled boards with gilt titles and ornaments on the spine (some rubbing and wear at the edges, as visible in the photos).
• Pages: Complete, with normal yellowing and widespread foxing; no tears or missing parts reported. Original title pages present.
• Format: In 8° (ca. 23x15 cm), total over 4000 pages.
• Illustrations: Some plates in black within the text (typical of the edition).
Private Italian provenance.
Ideal for collectors of nineteenth-century French/Italian literature, penny-dreadfuls, or social history.