VOLTAIRE, F.-M.-A. DE. ZADIG; OR The Book of Fate. An Oriental History. Frontispiece and engraved title. xi, [1], 238 pages. 12mo,

contemporary marbled boards, later calf back and tips, rebacked; some foxing. London: John Brindley, 1749 FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH. "It is in the third chapter of this tale that the hero... takes up the study of nature to console himself for his marital troubles and uses the observation of natural facts to infer events he has not seen. However implausible and "agrarian" his method, he is the first systematic detective in modern literature, and that priority itself adds to his troubles in the story until his royal vindication" --Barzun & Taylor 2141.