Fielding's Last Novel
Amelia.
London: A. Millar, 1752 [but 1751].
Price: $1,000.00
About the item
First edition, second state, with the misprint "the at Folly" corrected to "at the Folly" in vol. III, p. 191. xii, 285, [1]; viii, 262, [2, Universal Register Office ad]; ix, [i], 323, [1]; vii, [i], 296 pp. 4 vols. 12mo. Fielding's Last Novel. 19-century mottled calf, spines in six compartments with five raised bands, morocco spine labels in two, a.e.g., by Tout. Extremities rubbed, two hinges tender, in two custom cloth clamshell boxes. Cross III, p. 321; Rothschild 853. Provenance: Horace Davy (1833-1907), Baron Davey, English judge and politician (bookplate); Clement K. Shorter (1857-1926), English journalist and critic (bookplate).
Item #308443
Fielding's last novel, and a commercial failure. His publisher felt confident that Amelia would be as successful as Tom Jones, and, after an initial printing of 5,000 copies in December 1751 (the largest recorded for any 18th-century novel), ordered a second impression (published January 1752) before the first sold out. Unfortunately, only the first day was a success, and after that sales dropped off drastically.
