Chénier’s life still fascinates (Giordano’s opera Andrea Chenier is on at Covent Garden currently): born at Istanbul of a French father and a Greek mother, he embraced the Revolution with poetry, only to be guillotined at 31 by order of Robespierre (just 3 days before Robespierre himself was executed). He published only 2 poems in his lifetime, and subsequent publication has not been tidy. Critical reception has been divided: classicizing or proto-Romantic? - but in any case the most interesting French poet of the late 18th century. This is the only scholarly edition, with long introduction, variants, notes, glossary, index, and this is a fine book, sumptuously bound by Raparlier. The most fastidious will hesitate at the 4 cm hairline crack in a hinge (not progressive), but our price amply reflects this.