TASSO, Torquato/ HOOLE, John.
Jerusalem Delivered; an Heroic Poem. Translated from the Italian of Torquato Tasso, by John Hoole.
London, T. Davies/ J. Dodsley, 1767
2 vols., 8vo, contemporary full leather binding, titles and gilt decorations to spines, engraved title pages, [xxi], 250 p., + 284 p.; good copy, joint split of vol 1, slight rubbing to extremities
Third edition of this translation by John Hoole of Tasso’s epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata. Written from 1560 to 1581 and published in Italian in 1581, it first appeared in English in 1600 and gained much popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries. The story is set in 1099 during the first crusade when a group of Christian knights, led by their captain Godfrey, confront psychological and physical obstacles on their way to free the shrine of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem from Muslim rule.
