A History of Story-Telling: Studies in the Development of Narrative

London: T. C. & E. C Jack , 1909. First edition. Cloth. Very Good Indeed. 9" by 6.5". J. Gavin. An excellent first edition of Arthur Ransome's charming study of the history of story-telling, with illustrations by J. Gavin. An uncommon copy. Arthur Ransome, English author mainly known for writing and illustrating the 'Swallows and Amazons' series, proposes a careful study of the history of narrative and story telling. An extensive study in two parts, opening with a general look at the origins of narrative, Ransome goes on with an analysis of mediaeval poem 'The Romance of the Rose', and the works by Chaucer and Boccaccio. With notes on the Rogue Novel, Elizabethans, and Pastoral, a study of Cervantes, and a look at eighteenth-century authors such as Fielding, Smollett, and the masculine novel. The second part focusses on Romanticism in relation to different authors such as Chateaubriand, and continues with a study of nineteenth century literature to conclude with a note on Flaubert and De Maupassant and a general conclusion. Illustrated with twenty-seven portraits by J. Gavin. Collated, complete with Jean de Meung as frontispiece instead of facing p. 22. In the original publisher's full cloth binding. Externally very smart with only minor shelf wear and minor bumping to the head and tail of the spine and extremities. The cloth to the spine has slightly darkened. Internally, firmly bound. With only some spotting to the edges, affecting only the first and last few leaves and the odd page. Otherwise, the pages are generally bright and clean. Illustrated with twenty-seven portraits by J. Gavin. Collated, complete.  Very Good Indeed