Details
[DRYDEN, John (1631-1700)]. Absalom and Achitophel. London: Printed for J[acob] T[onson], 1681. -- The Second Part of Absalom and Achitophel. London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, 1682.
2 parts in one, 2o (297 x 187 mm; 306 x 193 mm). Part one with initial blank. (Last page of part one with loss at outer corner affecting catchword, last leaf of part II with a few closed tears, some pale browning.) Modern half morocco, spine gilt-lettered.
FIRST EDITIONS of both parts. Part one has line 10 on p. 5 reading "and serv'd" and with all misprints on p. 6 corrected in ink. Part two is Macdonald's second state with "Fleet-Street" in the imprint and 12 lines on the last page. Written at the request of Charles II, the poem made use of Biblical allegory to describe contemporary politics. The Earl of Shaftesbury (Achitophel) had been arrested for treason and committed to the Tower in July, 1681. Part one appeared anonymously in November and coincided with Shaftesbury's trial and acquittal before a grand jury. Part two, published in November 1682, continues the history of the times down to the election of the Tory sheriffs that September. While largely written by Nahum Tate (1652-1715), part two was revised by Dryden, who added 200 lines that contain satirical portraits of Og (Thomas Shadwell) and Doeg (Elkanah Settle). Macdonald 12a and 15a; Pforzheimer 310 and 311; Wing D-2212 and D-2350.
2 parts in one, 2
FIRST EDITIONS of both parts. Part one has line 10 on p. 5 reading "and serv'd" and with all misprints on p. 6 corrected in ink. Part two is Macdonald's second state with "Fleet-Street" in the imprint and 12 lines on the last page. Written at the request of Charles II, the poem made use of Biblical allegory to describe contemporary politics. The Earl of Shaftesbury (Achitophel) had been arrested for treason and committed to the Tower in July, 1681. Part one appeared anonymously in November and coincided with Shaftesbury's trial and acquittal before a grand jury. Part two, published in November 1682, continues the history of the times down to the election of the Tory sheriffs that September. While largely written by Nahum Tate (1652-1715), part two was revised by Dryden, who added 200 lines that contain satirical portraits of Og (Thomas Shadwell) and Doeg (Elkanah Settle). Macdonald 12a and 15a; Pforzheimer 310 and 311; Wing D-2212 and D-2350.