NAPOLEON'S PENINSULAR CAMPAIGNS: EXPANDED FIRST OCTAVO EDITION OF SOUTHEY'S HISTORY OF THE PENINSULAR WAR, 1828-37

(NAPOLEONIC WARS) SOUTHEY, Robert. History of the Peninsular War… A New Edition. London: John Murray, 1828-37. Six volumes. Octavo, 20th-century full marbled calf, red morocco spine labels, patterned endpapers. $1800.

Second edition—the first octavo edition, and greatly expanded over the first edition—of Southey's history of the Napoleonic campaigns in Spain and Portugal, attractively bound.

Best known as a Romantic poet (and Poet Laureate of England from 1813 to 1843), Southey was also an accomplished scholar of Spanish and Portuguese. "The conscientious industry needed to write works like the History of Brazil (1810-19) and the History of the Peninsular War (1823-32) is impressive, and the curious reader can still find in them much engaging anecdote and odd information" (ODNB). First published in three quarto volumes, 1823-32; this second edition is also the first in octavo format. The first four volumes of this edition, published in 1828, reprinted the entirety of the first edition; the remaining two volumes were published in 1837, and cover the final three years of the conflict, 1812-14, not covered in the first edition. Bound with half titles in Volumes I-IV. Lowndes, 2460.

Some minor spotting and staining to generally clean text; bindings near-fine and attractive.