THE UNFORTUNATE GENIUS: A NARRATIVE OF REAL LIFE IN YORKSHIRE [with] THE JEW OF DENMARK

Two titles bound together in one volume. 'The Unfortunate Genius' is a third edition, and 'The Jew of Denmark' is a first English translation, first printing. Contemporary half leather binding with gilt rules and gilt titles on a brown morocco label to the spine. A good copy, the binding square and firm, the leather worn to the spine and extremities, the head of the spine and corners with some chipping. The inner front hinge is cracked but holding. There is a contemporary ownership inscription to the front free endpaper, a blue pencil X to the text of page 233, occasional foxing throughout and toning to the paperstock of 'The Jew of Denmark', the contents are otherwise clean. 'The Unfortunate Genius' is very scarce.

The first title, 'The Unfortunate Genius', is an account of the life of a man born to a textile manufacturing community in the early 19th century in Airedale, Yorkshire, transcribed anonymously by 'a factory girl'. The unnamed man gives a fascinatingly detailed description of his childhood, during which he struggles to reconcile a great desire for knowledge of all kinds with the demands of his working class family and situation. He vows to do anything to avoid becoming a weaver, and sets out on a journey that sees him endure misfortune and poverty and takes him to New York and back again before he finally forms a successful business as a printer and publisher. He finishes his tale by extolling the virtues of hard work and perseverance, and condemns what he describes as the "sin" of "contentment in poverty". It provides a rare and illuminating description of working class life in the early 19th century, along with many of the narrator's personal insights on religion, social class and philosophy. Despite running to at least three editions, (the first edition of 2,000 copies, according to the preface, sold out in just three weeks), the book remains rare in commerce. The second title is the first English translation of 'The Jew of Denmark' by the Danish writer Meïr Goldschmidt (1819-1887), first published in Danish in 1845 under the title 'En Jöde'. Goldschmidt ran the political periodicals Nästved Ugeblad and Corsaren, both of which suffered fines and censorship for criticism of the crown. Over time Goldschmidt dedicated less time to political writing and from 1861 he focused entirely on literature, which often centred on religion, mysticism and philosophy. 'The Jew of Denmark' is his first novel and the first description of Danish Jewish life from an inside perspective.