8vo. In four volumes. [4], viii, 387, [1]; [4], 379, [1]; [4], 363, [1]; [4], 366pp. With four engraved plates. Contemporary calf-backed marbled brown cloth boards, gilt. A trifle rubbed and marked. Marbled endpapers, lightly spotted, occasional toning to leaves.

The first edition Arsene Houssaye's (1815-1896) historical novel which, despite the title, is centred around Octave de Parisis, a male protagonist and libertine in the mould of Don Juan, and his sexual conquests.