Issued in bright green paper wrappers, with untrimmed edges, and with the title-page reproduced upon the front. The leaves measure 8¾ × 6⅞ inches.
Thirty Copies only were printed.
The Frontispiece consists of a greatly reduced facsimile of the last page, bearing Borrow’s corrections, of the original edition of his Review of Ford’s ‘Hand-Book.’
This Supplementary Chapter to “The Bible in Spain” is a reprint of the Review of Ford’s Hand-book for Travellers in Spain written by Borrow in 1845 for insertion in The Quarterly Review, but withdrawn by him in consequence of the proposal made by the Editor, John Gibson Lockhart, that he should himself introduce into Borrow’s Essay a series of extracts from the Handbook. [See ante, No. 9.]
Included in the Prefatory Note is the following amusing squib, written by Borrow in 1845, but never printed by him. I chanced to light upon the Manuscript in a packet of his still unpublished verse:
Would it not be more dignified
To run up debts on every side,
And then to pay your debts refuse,
Than write for rascally Reviews?
And lectures give to great and small,
In pot-house, theatre, and town-hall,
Wearing your brains by night and day
To win the means to pay your way?
I vow by him who reigns in [hell],
It would be more respectable!
There is a copy of A Supplementary Chapter to “The Bible in Spain” in the Library of the British Museum. The press-mark is C. 57. d. 19 (2).
(11) [Lavengro: 1851]
Lavengro; / The Scholar—The Gypsy—The Priest. / By George Borrow, / Author of “The Bible in Spain,” and “The Gypsies of Spain” / In Three Volumes.—Vol. I. [Vol. II., &c.] / London: / John Murray, Albemarle Street. / 1851.
Vol. I.
Collation:—Large duodecimo, pp. xviii [85] + 360; consisting of: Half-title (with imprint “London: / George Woodfall and Son, / Angel Court, Skinner Street” upon the centre of the reverse). Pp. i–ii; Title-page, as above (with Advertisements of The Bible in Spain and The Zincali upon the reverse) pp. iii–iv; Preface pp. v–xii; and Text pp. 1–360. At the foot of p. 360 the imprint is repeated thus, “G. Woodfall and Son, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.” There are head-lines throughout, each page being headed with the number of the chapter, together with the title of the individual subject occupying it. The signatures are A (nine leaves, a single leaf being inserted between A 6 and A 7), and B to Q (fifteen sheets, each 12 leaves).
A Portrait of Borrow, engraved by W. Holl from a painting by H. W. Phillips, serves as Frontispiece.
Vol. II.
Collation:—Large duodecimo, pp. xii + 366; consisting of: Half-title (with imprint “London: / George Woodfall and Son, / Angel Court, Skinner Street” upon the centre of the reverse) pp. i–ii; Title-page, as above (with Advertisements of The Bible in Spain and The Zincali upon the reverse) pp. iii–iv; Contents of Vol. II pp. v–xi; p. xii is blank; and Text pp. 1–366. At the foot of p. 366 the imprint is repeated thus, “G. Woodfall and Son, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.” There are head-lines throughout, as in the first volume. The signatures are a (2 leaves), b (4 leaves), B to Q (fifteen sheets, each 12 leaves), plus R (3 leaves).
Vol. III.
Collation:—Large duodecimo, pp. xii + 426; consisting of: Half-title (with imprint “London: / George Woodfall and Son, / Angel Court, Skinner Street” upon the centre of the reverse) pp. i–ii; Title-page, as above (with Advertisements of The Bible in Spain and The Zincali upon the reverse) pp. iii–iv; Contents of Vol. III pp. v–xi; p. xii is blank; and Text pp. 1–426. At the foot of p. 426 the imprint is repeated thus, “G. Woodfall and Son, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.” There are head-lines throughout, as in the first volume. The signatures are a (2 leaves), b (4 leaves), B to S (seventeen sheets, each 12 leaves), T (6 leaves), and U (3 leaves).
Issued in dark blue cloth boards, with white paper back-labels, lettered “Lavengro; / the / Scholar, / the Gypsy, / and / the Priest. / By George Borrow / Vol. i. [Vol. ii., &c.]” The leaves measure 7¾ × 4⅞ inches. The edition consisted of 3,000 Copies. The published price was 30s.
A Second Edition (miscalled Third Edition) was issued in 1872; a Third (miscalled Fourth) in 1888; and a Fourth (miscalled Fifth) in 1896. To the edition of 1872 was prefixed a new Preface, in which Borrow replied to his critics in a somewhat angry and irritable manner. Copies of the First Edition of Lavengro are to be met with, the three volumes bound in one, in original publishers’ cloth, bearing the name of the firm of Chapman and Hall upon the back. These copies are ‘remainders.’ They were made up in 1870. It is by no means unlikely that in 1872 some confusion prevailed as to the nature of this subsidiary issue, and that it was mistaken for a Second Edition of the book. If so the incorrect numbering of the edition of that date, the actual Second Edition, may be readily accounted for.
An important edition of Lavengro is:
Lavengro / By George Borrow / A New Edition / Containing the unaltered Text of the Original Issue; / some Suppressed Passages now printed for the / first time; MS. Variorum, Vocabulary and Notes / By the Author of / The Life of George Borrow / London / John Murray, Albemarle Street / 1900.—Crown 8vo, pp. xxviii + 569.
The book was reprinted in 1911. The Editor was Dr. William Knapp.
An edition of Lavengro, with a valuable Introduction by Mr. Theodore Watts-Dunton, was published by Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co., in 1893. The work is also included in Everyman’s Library, and in other series of popular reprints.
When put to press in February, 1849, the first volume of Lavengro was set up with the title-page reading as follows:—
Life, A Drama. / By / George Borrow, Esq., / Author of “The Bible in Spain,” etc. / In Three Volumes. / Vol. i. / London: / John Murray, Albemarle Street. / 1849.
Only two examples of the volume with this interesting early title-page are known to have survived. One of these is now in the possession of the Hispanic Society, of New York. The other is the property of Mr. Otto Kyllmann.
Later in the same year Murray advertised the work under the following title:—
Lavengro, An Autobiography. By George Borrow, Esq., &c.
The same title was employed in the advertisements of 1850.
Mr. Clement Shorter possesses the original draft of the first portion of Lavengro. In this draft the title-page appears in its earliest form, and describes the book as Some Account of the Life, Pursuits, and Adventures of a Norfolk Man. A facsimile of this tentative title was given by Mr. Shorter in George Borrow and his Circle, 1913, p. 280.
“Borrow took many years to write Lavengro. ‘I am writing the work,’ he told Dawson Turner, ‘in precisely the same manner as The Bible in Spain, viz. on blank sheets of old account-books, backs of letters,’ &c., and he recalls Mahomet writing the Koran on mutton bones as an analogy to his own ‘slovenliness of manuscript.’ I have had plenty of opportunity of testing this slovenliness in the collection of manuscripts of portions of Lavengro that have come into my possession. These are written upon pieces of paper of all shapes and sizes, although at least a third of the book in Borrow’s very neat handwriting is contained in a leather notebook. The title-page demonstrates the earliest form of Borrow’s conception. Not only did he then contemplate an undisguised autobiography, but even described himself as ‘a Norfolk man.’ Before the book was finished, however, he repudiated the autobiographical note, and we find him fiercely denouncing his critics for coming to such a conclusion. ‘The writer,’ he declares, ‘never said it was an autobiography; never authorised any person to say it was one.’ Which was doubtless true, in a measure.”—[George Borrow and his Circle, 1913, pp. 279–281].
There is a copy of the First Edition of Lavengro in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is 12622. f. 7.
(12.) [The Romany Rye: 1857]
The / Romany Rye; / A Sequel to “Lavengro.” / By George B
orrow, / Author of / “The Bible in Spain,” “The Gypsies of Spain,” etc. / “Fear God, and take your own part.” / In Two Volumes.—Vol. I. [Vol. II.] / London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. / 1857. / [The Right of Translation is reserved.]
Vol. I.
Collation:—Large duodecimo, pp. xii + 372; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. i–ii; Title-page, as above (with imprint “London: Woodfall and Kinder, Printers, / Angel Court, Skinner Street” at the foot of the reverse) pp. iii–iv; Preface (styled Advertisement) pp. v–vi; Table of Contents pp. vii–xi; Extract from Pleasantries of the Cogia Nasr Eddin Efendi p. xii; and Text pp. 1–372. The head-line is The Romany Rye throughout, upon both sides of the page; each page also bears at its head the number of the particular Chapter occupying it. At the foot of p. 372 the imprint is repeated thus, “Woodfall and Kinder, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.” The signatures are A (a half-sheet of 6 leaves), B to Q (15 sheets, each 12 leaves), plus R (a half-sheet of 6 leaves).
Vol. II.
Collation:—Large duodecimo, pp. viii + 375 + ix; consisting of: Half-title (with blank reverse) pp. i–ii; Title-page, as above (with imprint “London: Woodfall and Kinder, Printers, / Angel Court, Skinner Street” at the foot of the reverse) pp. iii–iv; Table of Contents pp. v–vii; p. viii is blank; and Text pp. 1–375. The reverse of p. 375 is blank. The volume is completed by eight unnumbered pages of Advertisements of Works by the Author of “The Bible in Spain” ready for the Press. There are head-lines throughout; up to, and including, p. 244 the head-line is The Romany Rye, together with the numbers of the Chapters, pp. 245–375 are headed Appendix, accompanied by the numbers of the Chapters. At the foot of the last of the eight unnumbered pages carrying the Advertisements (Sig. R 12 verso) the imprint is repeated thus, “Woodfall and Kinder, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.” The signatures are A (four leaves), plus B to R (16 sheets, each 12 leaves).
Issued (on April 30th, 1857) in dark blue cloth boards, with white paper back-labels, lettered “The / Romany Rye. / By / George Borrow. / Vol. I. [Vol. II.]” The leaves measure 7⅞ × 5 inches.
Of the First Edition of The Romany Rye One Thousand Copies were printed. The published price was 21s. A Second Edition was published in 1858, a Third in 1872, a Fourth in 1888, and a Fifth in 1896. The book is included in Everyman’s Library, and in other series of popular reprints.
The series of Advertisements of Works by Borrow, announced as “Ready for the Press,” which occupy the last eight pages of the second volume of The Romany Rye are of especial interest. No less than twelve distinct works are included in these advertisements. Of these twelve The Bible in Spain was already in the hands of the public, Wild Wales duly appeared in 1862, and The Sleeping Bard in 1860. These three were all that Borrow lived to see in print. Two others, The Turkish Jester and The Death of Balder, were published posthumously in 1884 and 1889 respectively; but the remaining seven, Celtic Bards, Chiefs, and Kings, Songs of Europe, Kœmpe Viser, Penquite and Pentyre, Russian Popular Tales, Northern Skalds, Kings, and Earls, and Bayr Jairgey and Glion Doo: The Red Path and the Black Valley, were never destined to see the light. However, practically the whole of the verse prepared for them was included in the series of Pamphlets which have been printed for private circulation during the past twelve months.
As was the case with Lavengro, Borrow delayed the completion of The Romany Rye to an extent that much disconcerted his publisher, John Murray. The correspondence which passed between author and publisher is given at some length by Dr. Knapp, in whose pages the whole question is fully discussed.
Mr. Shorter presents the matter clearly and fairly in the paragraphs he devotes to the subject:
“The most distinctly English book—at least in a certain absence of cosmopolitanism—that Victorian literature produced was to a great extent written on scraps of paper during a prolonged Continental tour which included Constantinople and Budapest. In Lavengro we have only half a book, the whole work, which included what came to be published as The Romany Rye, having been intended to appear in four volumes. The first volume was written in 1843, the second in 1845, and the third volume in the years between 1845 and 1848. Then in 1852 Borrow wrote out an advertisement of a fourth volume, which runs as follows:
Shortly will be published in one volume. Price 10s. The Rommany Rye, Being the fourth volume of Lavengro. By George Borrow, author of The Bible in Spain.
But this volume did not make an appearance ‘shortly.’ Its author was far too much offended with the critics, too disheartened it may be, to care to offer himself again for their gibes. The years rolled on, and not until 1857 did The Romany Rye appear. The book was now in two volumes, and we see that the word Romany had dropped an m. . . .
The incidents of Lavengro are supposed to have taken place between the 24th of May 1825, and the 18th of July of that year. In The Romany Rye the incidents apparently occur between the 19th of July and the 3rd of August 1825. In the opinion of Mr. John Sampson, the whole of the episodes in the five volumes occurred in seventy-two days.”—[George Borrow and his Circle, 1913, pp. 341–343.]
A useful edition of The Romany Rye is:
The Romany Rye / A Sequel to “Lavengro” / By George Borrow / A New Edition / Containing the unaltered text of the Original / Issue, with Notes, etc., by the Author of / “The Life of George Borrow” / London / John Murray, Albemarle Street / 1900.—Crown 8vo. pp. xvi + 403.
The book was edited by Dr. William Knapp.
There is a copy of the First Edition of The Romany Rye in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is 12622. f. 8.
(13) [The Sleeping Bard: 1860]
The Sleeping Bard; / Or / Visions of the World, Death, and Hell, / By / Elis Wyn. / Translated from the Cambrian British / By / George Borrow, / Author of/ “The Bible in Spain,” “The Gypsies of Spain,” etc. / London: / John Murray, Albemarle Street. / 1860.
Collation:—Crown octavo, pp. x + 128; consisting of: Title-page, as above (with blank reverse) pp. i–ii; Preface pp. iii–vii; p. viii is blank; Fly-title to A Vision of the Course of the World (with blank reverse) pp. ix-x; and Text of the three Visions pp. 1–128. There are head-lines throughout, each double-page being headed with the title of the particular Vision occupying it. A Vision of Hell is preceded by a separate Fly-title (pp. 67–68) with blank reverse. At the foot of p. 128 is the following imprint, “James M. Denew, Printer, 72, Hall Plain, Great Yarmouth.” The sheets carry no register. The book was issued without any Half-title. In some copies the Christian name of the printer is misprinted Jamms.
Issued (in June, 1860) in magenta coloured cloth boards, lettered in gold along the back, “The Sleeping Bard,” and “London / John Murray” across the foot. The published price was 5s.; 250 copies were printed. Murray’s connection with the work was nominal. The book was actually issued at Yarmouth by J. M. Denew, the printer by whom it was produced. The cost was borne by the author himself, to whom the majority of the copies were ultimately delivered.
Some few copies of The Sleeping Bard would appear to have been put up in yellowish-brown plain paper wrappers, with untrimmed edges. One such example is in the possession of Mr. Paul Lemperley, of Cleveland, Ohio; a second is in the library of Mr. Clement Shorter. The leaves of both these copies measure 8¾ × 5¾ inches. The leaves of ordinary copies in cloth measure 7½ × 4¾ inches. The translation was made in 1830.
The text of The Sleeping Bard is divided into three sections. Each of these sections closes with a poem of some length, as follows:—
page
1. The Perishing World. [O man, upon this building gaze]
38
2. Death the Great. [Leave land and house we must some day]
In the printed text the seventh stanza of Death the Great reads thus:
The song and dance afford, I ween,
Relief from spleen, and sorrows grave;
How very strange there is no dance,
Nor tune of France, from Death can sa
ve!
About the year 1871 Borrow re-wrote this stanza, as follows:
The song and dance can drive, they say,
The spleen away, and humour’s grave;
Why hast thou not devised, O France!
Some tune and dance, from Death to save?
As was invariably the case with Borrow, his revision was a vast improvement upon the original version.
63
3. The Heavy Heart. [Heavy’s the heart with wandering below]
The Manuscript of The Sleeping Bard was formerly in the possession of Dr. Knapp. It is now the property of the Hispanic Society, of New York. It extends to 74 pages 4to.
124
There is a copy of the First Edition of The Sleeping Bard in the Library of the British Museum. The Press-mark is 12355. c. 17.
(14) [Wild Wales: 1862]
Wild Wales: / Its People, Language, and Scenery. / By George Borrow, / Author of “The Bible in Spain,” etc. / “Their Lord they shall praise, / Their language they shall keep, / Their land they shall lose, / Except Wild Wales.” / Taliesin: Destiny of the Britons. / In Three Volumes.—Vol. I. [Vol. II, &c.] / London: / John Murray, Albemarle Street. / 1862. / The right of Translation is reserved.
Vol. I.
Collation:—Large duodecimo, pp. xii + 410; consisting of: Half-title (with advertisements of five of Borrow’s Works upon the reverse) pp. i–ii; Title-page, as above (with imprint “London: / Printed by Woodfall and Kinder, / Angel Court, Skinner Street” upon the centre of the reverse) pp. iii–iv; Notice regarding the previous appearance of a portion of the work in The Quarterly Review (with blank reverse) pp. v–vi; Contents of Vol. I pp. vii–xi; p. xii is blank; and Text pp. 1–410. There are head-lines throughout, each verso being headed Wild Wales, whilst each recto is headed with the title of the particular subject occupying it. At the foot of p. 410 the imprint is repeated thus: “Woodfall and Kinder, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.” The signatures are A (a half-sheet of 6 leaves), B to S (17 sheets, each 12 leaves), plus T (2 leaves). The second leaf of Sig. T is a blank.
A Bibliography of the Writings in Prose and Verse of George Henry Borrow Page 6
