8vo. In three volumes. [6], iv, ii, 458; [2], ii, 481, [1], x; [2], ii, 552, vi pp. Handsomely bound in contemporary gilt-tooled speckled calf, contrasting black morocco lettering-pieces, speckled edges. Very lightly rubbed. Marbled endpapers, internally clean and crisp.

The first published work of English essayist Nathan Drake (1766-1836), comprised, like much of his later output, of miscellaneous, loosely-connected essays. Commended for their personable, unpretentious prose, Drake's compositions include essays critical, narrative, biographical, and descriptive. This three-volume edition also includes two Gothic novellas, found at the rear. Drake's most significant work, Shakespeare and His Times (1817), was said to have required so much commitment that it impaired his health. It provided the most comprehensive collected edition of 'the tedious and scattered material of the editions and the many other valuable labours of Tyrwhitt, Heath, and Ritson on Shakespeare.' (Gervinus & Bunnett, 1863)