8vo. vii, [1], 395pp, [1]. With a hand-coloured engraved frontispiece. Contemporary calf, tooled in gilt and blind, morocco lettering-piece. Lightly rubbed and marked, spine dulled. Armorial bookplate of Edward Jolly to FEP, offsetting to title page.

The first edition of these 'Authentic Records', purportedly written by lady-in-waiting to Queen Caroline Lady Anne Hamilton (1766 -1846). In reality, the work was a forgery - this single-volume would later be expanded into the notorious 'Secret History of the Court of England from the accession of George the Third until the Death of George the Fourth', renounced by Hamilton, who as a result fled to France. The actual writer, speculated to be a woman under the initials of S.W. who had gained the confidence of Lady Hamilton, was most likely Olivia Serres (1772-1834), noted royal imposter.