John Donne, 1610

DONNE, John (1573-1631). Pseudo-Martyr. London: printed by W. Stansby for Walter Burre, 1610.

Donne's rare first appearance in print: an anti-Catholic polemic dedicated to James I. The premise of this obsessively researched treatise is that Catholic recusants who refused to take James's Oath of Allegiance are actually committing suicide, and thus are not true martyrs but "pseudo-martyrs." It was extremely well recieved by James, who encouraged him to take holy orders—advice Donne would eventually take in 1615. From a Catholic family and descended through his mother from Thomas More, Donne perhaps had more reason than most to demonstrate his loyalty to James and the Church of England, particularly in the tumultous years following the Gunpowder Plot. This work may also contain a subtle message to his former co-religionists: do what you can to survive. Keynes 1.

Quarto (209 x 165mm). (First few leaves toned; staining and a few repairs intermittently in first three chapters.) Removed from old vellum binding, gatherings re-guarded and tipped into archival paper covers. Provenance: Herbert Jacob Esq. (armorial bookplate to title page verso) – Inner Temple (gilt supralibros on old vellum binding; stamp to title and a few other places) – Sotheby’s 16 December 1996, lot 18.