[Literature] Swinburne, Algernon Charles. Adah Isaacs Menken A Fragment Of Autobiography

London: Printed for Private Circulation Only, 1917. First and only edition, one of 12 unnumbered copies. 4to. x, (ii) pp. Publisher's own copy, with printed book-plate of Clement K. Shorter on front paste-down. Illustrated with three black and white portraits of Adah Isaacs Menken, one with Swinburne, and one facsimile poem. Three-quarter blue levant over marbled paper-covered boards, lightly soiled; top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed; marbled endpapers; articles from The Dickensian magazine tipped- and laid-in at front, regarding Menken (dated 'Sept 1917' in manuscript at top right); original stiff orange wrappers, printed in black, bound in at rear.

Very rare publication on American actress and poet Adah Isaacs Menken (1835-1868), credited to English poet Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909), but compiled by literary critic Clement S. Shorter (1857-1926). Published nearly a decade after Swinburne's death, this is one of only 12 copies printed for private circulation by Shorter.

Menken was one of the highest earning actresses of her time, renowned for her theatrical performance in the hippodrama "Mazeppa", a popular mid-19th century European production based on a Lord Byron poem. Poet Algernon C. Swinburne was one of many well known literary admirers of Menken's from around the world, along with Alexander Dumas, Charles Dickens, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Walt Whitman, Samuel Clemens, and Bret Harte. Menken and Swinburne were known to have had an affair during her tour through England in 1867 just a year before her death.

Menken and Swinburne had a brief and unconventional relationship, as Yisreal Levin recounts in A.C. Swinburne and the Singing Word New Perspectives on the Mature Work: "According to the story...Dante Gabriel Rossetti, scandalized to discover that the author of the erotic Poems and Ballads was still technically a virgin, approached Menken to secure his friend's sexual initiation. Swinburne was taken to see her perform in Mazeppa at The Theatre Royal... where 'her beauties were pointed out to him'...leading to an affair of several months...Swinburne obviously enjoyed the coup of having such a well-known and desirable woman for his mistress...[he] insisted that they had their photograph taken as a couple...Menken's most recent biographer, Renee M. Sentilles, points out that she and Swinburne shared many literary passions...as well as a 'fascination with sexuality outside of normative behavior'..." (pp. 136-38)

After her death in 1868, Menken's tombstone featured a line from Swinburne's poem "Ilicet", as was her request.

Darren Winston

SVP, Head of Department, Books and Manuscripts, Philadelphia

[email protected]267.414.1247

Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s, has served as Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club.

Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2003 he moved with his young family to Sharon, Connecticut where, in 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows. He was a trustee and, later, Board President, of the Sharon Historical Society, and for six years a trustee of Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Darren has hosted the radio program "Darren Winston's Book Report" for NPR-affiliate WHDD since 2009, appeared in the 2014 book-themed documentary The Paper Trail, and in 2024 he joined Antiques Roadshow as a books and manuscripts appraiser. From 1999 to 2005, Darren was the buyer and consultant to the Fine and Rare Books Department at Asprey, the British luxury goods company, at its New York headquarters. While there he spearheaded various in-store events including readings by Salman Rushdie and Dominick Dunne.

In 1993, Darren was hired as a Creative Consultant to Columbia Records, where he assisted in the repackaging of their 12-record Aerosmith back catalogue. He later sold his extensive collection of Aerosmith memorabilia, which he began amassing at the age of 14, directly to the band.

Darren now lives on the Main Line, outside Philadelphia, with his wife, two children, and dog. The family travels frequently to his wife's native England and Scotland. When not bookselling, he plays guitar in Pumped, an Aerosmith tribute band. Darren also appears on the top-rated PBS television program Antiques Roadshow.

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[Literature] Swinburne, Algernon Charles. Adah Isaacs Menken A Fragment Of Autobiography

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