Saggio sullo stato attuale della letteratura italiana di Giovanni Hobhouse. Con note dell’Autore, Traduzione dall’inglese di M. Pegna.

Italy, 1825. Hardcover. Good. Italy: n.p., 1825. 8vo (220 x 140mm). 186pp. Signatures: [1]-11(8), 12(6). 19th century three-quarter vellum over marbled boards, spine with morocco lettering label, “HOBHOUSE SAGGIO DELLA LETT ITA,” edges speckled blue; (some light foxing or marginal dampstaining throughout, corners slightly bumped light edgewear; good copy). This is the original Italian edition, translated from English by Mario Pegna, of the Essay on the Present Literature of Italy; a classic but controversial work which epitomized the ardent interest of British Romantic writers in Italian literature. John Hobhouse, Lord Broughton, was a British baronet and diarist operating within the circle of Lord Byron in the early nineteenth century. Both Byron and Hobhouse, recognized peers in British society and Romantic Movement writers, made many trips to the Italian peninsula, subsequently publishing their reflections in collaborative works. The Essay on the Present Literature of Italy began as a companion to Byron’s work where Hobhouse sought to fill some gaps in his knowledge of contemporaryItalian literature. Hobhouse quietly commissioned the assistance of the Italian poet Ugo Foscolo (1778-1827) who made fundamental contributions to this work. Unfortunately, their venture was troublesome and missed several marks; it was severely criticized for its lack of neutrality and for leaving out contemporary “greats” and embroiled Classic and Romantics in an international literary dispute known as the “Hobhouse Affair.” Throughout all, Hobhouse wished to present himself as the expert on Italian Letters and Foscolo wished to hide himself away from it, possibly why all authorship attribution was given to Hobhouse and the imprint is vaguely “Italia” with no given publisher. Hobhouse was not deterred and would later publish his more famous Italy: Remarks Made in Several Visits, from the Year 1816 to 1854 (London: Murray, 1859). This edition scarce; OCLC locates it at Harvard, Duke Univ. and the British Library.