Book Description
On a cold, damp day in February 1870, the Correctional Tribunal of Paris sentenced Vrain-Denis Lucas to prison for forging and selling over 27,000 historical letters to many of France's leading collectors. The sensational trial exposed the most colossal literary fraud ever perpetrated. The trial revealed that for 19 years, Lucas created fake literary masterpieces, mostly letters to and from famous or historical figures, and became a very wealthy man because of it. At first, Lucas used quills, inks, papers, and styles of writing used by historical French authors. As the years passed and his forgeries were accepted into the foremost collections in the nation, his ego got the best of him. When he produced a host of letters written by Mary Magdalene to Lazarus, Cleopatra to Caesar, Pompey to Cato - in French no less - and boldly sold them to one of France's leading collectors, Lucas's shameless audacity reached new heights. This edition is the first English translation of the rare French title, "Une Fabrique de Faux Autographes, Ou Recit de L'Affaire Vran Lucas" (Paris 1870) by Henri Bordier and Emile Mabille. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of literary forgeries, manuscripts, and autographs.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

FROM THE PUBLISHER