"THE BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD - Lot 122

"THE BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD [MARTORELL (Joanot)]. Histoire du vaillant chevalier TIRAN LE BLANC, translated from the Spanish. A Londres [Paris], s. e, [1740]. Two volumes in two volumes (32 ff, 336 pp //1 f title and 523 pp), full porphyry calf, ornate smooth spines, triple fillet on boards, gilt edges (18th century bindings), one cuff worn. A good copy. Famous Catalan novel of chivalry which features in Don Quixote's library. Published in Valencia in 1490, "The interest of Tirant le Blanc lies less in the story of his adventures and loves than in the many details the book contains about court life and the refined immoralism of Byzantium. "(Laffont-Bompiani IV, p. 567). Here's what Cervantes has to say about it in the famous chapter VI: "A treasure trove of contentment and a mine of amusements... In truth, my friend, in style, it is the best book in the world: the knights eat, sleep and die in their beds, and make their wills before they die, with all those things that are lacking in books of this kind... "(Don Quixote will follow this example). The London address, rather than the Paris one, made it possible to avoid censorship. This free adaptation is attributed to the Comte de Caylus. Palau, 156475.