8vo. In two volumes. vi, v-lxxiv, [2], 444; 494pp. With 12 hand-coloured engraved plates. Handsomely bound in contemporary richly gilt-tooled red morocco, A.E.G. Lightly rubbed and marked. Contemporary inked gift inscription to verso of Vol. I FFEP, occasional spotting.

An early nineteenth-century edition of Church of England clergyman Zachary Grey's (1688-1766) authoritative edition of Samuel Butler's (1612-1680) mock heroic narrative poem, first printed in 1744. Butler secured his place in English literary history with the publication of this work in three parts in 1663, 1664 and 1678 respectively. Hudibras follows the exploits of Knight Sir Hudibras, satirising the Civil War and the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. A staunch Royalist, Butler evidently enjoys his satire which fiercely criticises the Roundheads, and particularly the Puritanical elements of the Interregnum. Influences for Hudibras include Rabelais and Cervantes' Don Quixote de la Mancha.