JUNOT d'ABRANTÈS, Laure. — Hedwige, reine de Pologne.

Brussels, Hauman et Cie, 1838. Small 8vo. [iv],230 pp. Contemporary marbled boards. (spine damaged; edges worn; library label on spine and front board: 'from the reading library of A.H. Bakhuyzen, The Hague'; foxed) - Bibliotheeklabel op voorplat: "Uit de lees-bibliotheek van A.H. Bakhuyzen, boekverkoper in de Hoogstraat te 's-Gravenhage." ¶ Dedicated in print to the princess of Czartoryiska (née Sapicha), i.e. Anna Zofia Sapieha (1799-1864). ¶ Jadwiga, queen of Poland from 1384-1399. ¶ Mme. the duchess of Abrantès (1784-1838) is mostly known for her Memoirs, in which she details her close relation to Napoléon Bonaparte. After the death of her husband in 1813 she relocated to Rome for some years, before returning to Paris. In Paris she met Honoré de Balzac, with whom she briefly had an affair, and whom she introduced to the important salons in Paris. He in turn helped her write and publish her Memoirs. The last years of her life her literary fame declined (Gautier called her the 'Duchess of Abracadantès'), and she died in poverty in 1838. ¶ Worldcat only lists a Paris edition of this work (Dumont, 1838), but the entry incorporates copies of both the Brussels and the Paris edition. Both editions use a different typesetting.