Tchemerzine-Scheler, V, 347 ; Le Petite, p. 374 ; Guibert, pp. 95-96 ; Diesbach, Biblioth\u00e8que Jean Bonna, XVIIe si\u00e8cle, 257 (bound with a copy of Athalie).<\/i><\/p>\n
First edition. The book was issued with a privilege shared between Denys Thierry and Claude Barbin.<\/p>\n
The tragedy Esther<\/i> was written by Racine “in response to the wish of his friend, Mme de Maintenon. The wife of King XIV and founder of the Saint-Cyr institution for young girls, Mme de Maintenon asked the famous Racine to write tragedies from the Bible for the instruction and entertainment of the young ladies of Saint-Cyr” (see V. de Diesbach). The play, performed in sumptuous sets and costumes created especially for the occasion, was first performed before the King on 26 January 1689. It was such a success that Louis XIV rewarded Racine by appointing him Gentilhomme ordinaire de sa Majest\u00e9<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Minor wear to the head of spine, otherwise a very fine copy of the issue in large-format<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
4to (247 x 185 mm) 6 nn.ll., 1 engraved plate by Le Clerc after Le Brun, 83 pp. Contemporary mottled calf, spine gilt with raised bands, red speckled edges<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":80482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[544],"product_tag":[1244,1450,1255],"class_list":{"0":"post-80489","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-literature","7":"product_tag-17th-century-literature","8":"product_tag-first-edition","9":"product_tag-theatre-dance","10":"pa_auteur-racine-jean-2","11":"pa_type-de-livre-printed-book","13":"first","14":"instock","15":"shipping-taxable","16":"purchasable","17":"product-type-simple"},"acf":{"artist":" Jean RACINE","chapeau":"","adresse_bibliographique":"Paris, Denys Thierry, 1689","book_type":"Printed book","provenance":"","afficher_prix":""},"yoast_head":"\n