"The Works Of Rabelais Faithfully Translated from the French wit Variorum Notes and Numerous illustrations by Gustave Dore, published by Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly, London, First UK Edition, later printing with the publisher's catalog dated February 1882. Complete all five books of "Gargantua and Pantagruel."

Hard boards, original brown cloth [a little wear, a few small spine creases]; 5" x 7.3/4"; dark-blue endpapers, 640 pages + 32-page publisher's catalog; frontispiece and title-page are heavily foxed, pages have occasional light foxing but are otherwise clean; a couple pages are roughly opened [cut] with a damage to the upper edge [see photo]; several page blocks are in original uncut condition as issued [see photo]; c.100+ woodcut illustrations are sharp and clear, the plates are on heavier paper printed on one side only [the backs of the plates are blank]; very good condition.

Francois Rabelais (between 1483 and 1494-1553) was a French Renaissance writer, physician, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has historically been regarded as a writer of satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes, and songs.

Because of his literary power and historical importance, Western literary critics consider Rabelais one of the great writers of world literature and among the creators of modern European writing. His best known work is Gargantua and Pantagruel. His literary legacy is such that the word Rabelaisian has been coined as a descriptive inspired by his work and life. Merriam-Webster defines the word as describing someone or something that is "marked by gross robust humor, extravagance of caricature, or bold naturalism".

Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Dore [1832-1883] was a French artist, printmaker, illustrator, caricaturist, and sculptor who worked primarily with wood-engraving. In 1854 he illustrated Rabelais' "Gargantua et Pantagruel." In these illustrations, Dore shows both, the absurd reality of the world of Gargantua, and satirical context of Rabelais' narrative. At the same time, Dore's illustrations visualize the humoristic aspects of "Gargantua et Pantagruel."

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