Kjælighedens Komedie. Komedie I Tre Akter. Christiania: Ernst hos H.J. Jensen, 1862.
First edition.
Octavo 140 pp. Bound in full red calf, covers decorated in gilt with elaborate wing and heart patterned border, spine and dentelles stamped in gilt to match; all edges gilt. Aside from some spotting to front cover and some faint toning to upper margins, a beautiful copy.
First edition of one of Ibsen’s most personal plays. Translated into English as “Love’s Comedy,†Ibsen based this play as well as the poem Paa Vidurne on his wife Suzanna. Written in verse and set in a bourgeois milieu, it deals with the need for liberation from the shackles of societal obligations, and caused quite an uproar when it first appeared on stage. Ibsen often felt that the book was damaging to his reputation, as the public believed the play to be an exact replication of Ibsen’s personal life.
Ibsen (1828-1906) was a Norwegian playwright known for his scandalous works which attacked Victorian ideals and which are credited with the engenderment of modern realistic drama. His other works include Peer Gynt; Et Dukkehjem [“A Doll’s Houseâ€] and Hedda Gabler.
ID:
3589
$
1,400