Metamorphoses of Lucius Apuleius or the Golden Asse Illustrated Vintage Abbey Library Hardcover in Original Dust Jacket 1955

Metamorphoses of Lucius Apuleius or the Golden Asse Illustrated Vintage Abbey Library Hardcover in Original Dust Jacket 1955

<Condition is Good+ as Pictured> (normal wear, some markings, visible edge-wear, age apptoning to interior pages, dust jacket has chips/rips)

—An enchanting story that has inspired generations of writers, including Boccaccio, Shakespeare, Cervantes and Keats Written towards the end of the second century AD, The Golden Ass tells the story of the many adventures of a young man whose fascination with witchcraft leads him to be transformed into a donkey.

The bewitched Lucius passes from owner to owner - encountering a desperate gang of robbers and being forced to perform lewd 'human' tricks on stage - until the Goddess Isis finally breaks the spell and initiates Lucius into her cult. It has long been disputed whether Apuleius meant this last-minute conversion seriously or as a final comic surprise and the challenge of interpretation continues to keep readers fascinated.

Apuleius' enchanting story has inspired generations of writers such as Boccaccio, Shakespeare, Cervantes and Keats with its dazzling combination of allegory, satire, bawdiness and sheer exuberance, and The Golden Ass remains the most continuously and accessibly amusing book to have survived from Classical antiquity.

> I believe the initial group of Abbey Library titles was issued in 1955. Lucius Apuleius’ The Golden Asse is illustrated by Jean De Bosschiere and is not dated. The jacket covers are unique to each title. The series name is included on the jacket spine. The front jacket flap describes the book. The price is 25s.

“These famous Classics are the unexpurgated copies of rare books selected from the most sophisticated works of love; great classics hitherto denied to most readers because they were inexpensive editions. Exciting stories by the world’s greatest artists, in attractively produced volumes that you will be proud to have as a complete set in your home. Among the writers represented are such world-famous authors as Balzac, Flaubert, and Voltaire.” (from the rear jacket flap)

A series using the Abbey Library name was issued by Chapman & Dodd between 1922-1927. Murray’s Abbey Classics was a series of post-WW2 larger-format illustrated classics, most likely printed from plates used on a pre-WW2 series purchased by Murray. The books were likely intended as gifts, and are cheaply bound with coarse paper (like Murray’s other series, the Abbey Classics). Six illustrated titles were issued around 1955.


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