[Marana, Giovanni Paolo].

The Eight Volumes of Letters Writ By a Turkish Spy, Who lived Five and Forty Years Undiscovered at Paris: Giving an Impartial Account to the Divan at Constantinople of the Most Remarkable Transactions of Europe : And discovering several Intrigues and Secrrets of the Christian Courts, (especially of that of France) continued from the Year 1637, to the Year 1682 [plus the Supplement Volume covers the Years 1687 to the Year 1693]. Mixed Edition: Volume I: 24th Edition (1754) / Volume II , Volume III, Volume IV and Volume V in Seventh Edition (1717-1718) / Volume VI is missing (!) / Volume VII and Volum VIII (1718) / Supplement-Volume IX is titled: “A Continuation of Letters – Written by a Turkish Spy….continued from the Year 1687 too the Year 1693. Written originally in Arabick, Translated into Italian, and from thence into English.

Eight Volumes (of 9, including Supplement). Dublin / London, G.and A. Ewing / W.Taylor, 1717-1754. Small Octavo. Volume I: Frontispiece showing Mahmut the Turkish Spy, XXV, 312 pages / Volume II: 276 pages / Volume III: 287 pages / Volume IV: 287 pages / Volume V: 276 pages / Volume VI (missing) / Volume VII: 248 pages / Volume VIII: 280 pages / Volume IX: Frontispiece “Mohamet the Turkish Spy”, VIII, (6), 304 pages. Hardcover / Original full leather of the 18th century with gilt lettering and ornament to spine and boards. Only the first Volume (Dublin Edition) with some stronger damage to endpapers but very good and firm inside. All other Volumes in very good condition. Extremely rare with Volume IX, the nearly always missing Supplement Volume. Provanance: Volume I (Dublin Edition) from the library of John Morrison / Volumes 2 – 9 from the library of Chris Rogers. Both names written in contemporary ink to titlepages.

[Volume 6 missing but here included is the extremely rare 9th Supplement Volume]

Giovanni Paolo Marana or sometimes Jean-Paul Marana (1642 – 1693) was a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, best remembered for his conviction for failing to reveal a conspiracy to cede the Genoese town of Savona to the Duchy of Savoy.
Marana was born in Genoa to a wealthy family. In 1672, Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy, sought to expand his domains by occupying the town of Savona. For this purpose, he enlisted Raffaele Della Torre, a condottiere (a mercenary military leader), who hired men, many unsalacious, to betray the town from within. Marana apparently knew of the plot, but failed to inform the authorities, causing his imprisonment for four years. In prison, he worked on the translation of the complete works of Seneca, as well as an encoded system of writing.

Once released, he moved to France, where he was pensioned by King Louis XIV, an ally of Savoy. He returned to Italy in 1689. He published in 1682 a chronicle of the Congiura de Rafaello della Torre.

Marana is the author of ‘Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy’, an epistolary novel that judges the history and manners of Europe, especially of France, of his time from an Oriental perspective. This book was published in Italian in 1684 and in French in 1686. They were translated by William Bradshaw (writer) into English in 1687 under the supervision of Robert Midgley.

The French writer and philosopher Montesquieu also drew on this book in his Persian Letters, an epistolary novel published in 1721 criticising the existing absolute monarchy in France in his own time. (Wikipedia)

• Keywords: 18th / 19th Century Country House Library of Daniel Conner – Manch House · 18th Century – Irish Country House Library · 18th Century – Rare · Daniel Conner Library · Daniel Conner Library (Connerville / Manch House / Bandon) · European History – Rare · French History · French History Rare · History – Rare · Middle East · Middle Eastern History – Rare · Spy · Turkey · Turkish History
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 32224AB

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