ARTHUR O'LEARY: HIS WANDERINGS AND PONDERINGS IN MANY LANDS, edited by his Friend, Harry Lorrequer.

First edition, first printing. Three volumes. Finely bound in nineteenth century full dark green morocco, the spines uniformly faded to lighter brown, with five raised bands, gilt decorated compartments (lettered in gilt to two), front and rear boards triple-ruled in gilt, inner dentelles elaborately decorated in gilt. Burgundy endpapers. Each volume with a frontispiece engraving by George Cruikshank and seven further engravings spread across the three volumes. The publisher's original cloth gilt-lettered spine panels bound to the rear of each volume. In near fine condition, the bindings square and firm, the contents clean throughout. Very lightly spotted to fore- and lower page block edges, occasionally to the margins of a few pages, and to the binder's blanks front and rear. A handsome set.

Rather a collection of stories of adventure (of the Napoleonic wars chiefly) than a novel [,] Lever worked into 'Arthur Leary' many of his own experiences in Canada, and also at Göttingen (there is a good deal about student life in Germany). One of the most well-received of the author's books. (Adapted from Stephen J. M. Brown, 'Ireland in Fiction: A Guide to Irish Novels, Tales, Romances, and Folk-lore', Dublin, 1916). Charles James Lever was born in Dublin, and like Wilde and Beckett after him, attended Trinity College (1823–1828), taking his degree in medicine in 1831. He practised as a physician in Brussels before returning to Dublin to edit the Dublin University Magazine (1842-5). Acquainted with and respected by Dickens, Trollope and Thackeray. The latter, while noting the energy of Lever's humour, described his salient tone as "not humour but sentiment. The spirits are mostly artificial, the fond is sadness, as appears to me to be that of most Irish writing and people." Lever died in Trieste (Joyce's home for fifteen years) in 1872, aged 65. ('Charles Lever: New Evaluations', edited by Tony Barham, New York: 1991).