Memoirs of Cardinal Dubois TWO VOLUMES

London: Leonard Smithers and Co, 1899. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. Guillaume Dubois (1656-1723) was a French cardinal and statesman. He was considered one of France's four great Cardinal-Ministers (Richelieu, Mazarin, Dubois, and Fleury). He studied at the college of St. Michel in Paris, where he was befriended by the head of the college, who found pupils for him, ultimately leading to him becoming the tutor to the Duc d'Orleans. When the Duc D'Orléans became regent in 1715, Dubois was made councillor of state. He was subsequently invested as a Cardinal. Dubois was instrumental in negotiating the Triple Alliance in 1717 among the French, British, and Dutch to counteract the power of the Spanish. Dubois supposedly wrote these memoirs in the last two years of his life. According to the prefatory note to this volume (quoting the preface of the initial French edition of 1829), there was great intrigue concerning the publication of these memoirs. The original was ostensibly stolen by Dubois' secretary, who intended to sell it to the family. Because of its scandalous nature, he waited until most persons named in it had died. When he did try to sell it, Versailles intervened and obtained the original, which it stored, not releasing it for publication. It was then copied by a comte, whose copy was published after his death. But the original manuscript was never found, leading to suspicions that it never existed. So, is this the real memoir of Cardinal Dubois, or is it a fake? Regardless, it is a very entertaining story of the time of Louis XIV and Louis XV. Octavo. Bright blue cloth boards with gilt fleur-de-lis on front and title on spine of each volume. Includes frontis of Cardinal with tissue intact. Deckle edge paper in great condition. Vol. 1 282 pages, Vol. 2, 268 pages. FRA/5163.