58. Helps (Sir Arthur, public servant and author, 1813-75) New Series of “Friends in Council”, 2 vol., manuscript in several hands, 712pp., browned, bookplates on front pastedowns, original morocco-backed boards, rubbed, corners worn, gilt spines, sm. 4to, [c. 1846].
est. £200 – £300
“Helps’s most successful works were two series of Friends in Council, published in 1847-9 and 1859, which took the form of discourses on social, political, and literary topics, each delivered by one of an imaginary coterie of congenial associates, followed by a discussion by members of the group. The format was inspired both by the Cambridge Conversazione Society (the Apostles), to which Helps had been elected in 1833, and by the conversations among distinguished visitors to Vernon Hill, who included Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin,, and Charles Kingsley. A compilation of contemporary commonplaces, written in a prolix style, Friends in Council was much admired at the time, especially by distinguished authors.” - Oxford DNB.