“[CHIARI's INDEPENDENT AND RESOURCEFUL HEROINES… INTRODUCE A TYPE OF FEMALE CHARACTER QUITE NEW TO THE ITALIAN LITERARY CANON" (The Cambridge Companion to the Italian Novel). 8vos, 2 vols in 2. (12), 271 pp, (1), plus engr frontispiece; (8), 256 pp. Bound in contemporary yapp-edged velum with gilt-and-black title labels on spines; fore-edges speckled in blue and red. An immaculate copy, clean and fresh. Very rare first edition of one of Chiari’s first novels, ‘The Unlucky Songstress’, recounting the adventures and misfortunes of a female theatre singer in mid-18th century Italy. Though popular at the time, Chiari’s novels have not enjoyed close scholarly treatment until very recently. “Their chief novelty was the introduction of female protagonists, and the presentation of the actions of non-aristocratic individuals (particularly those from the middle class), to replace those of higher social standing in the courtly baroque novel of adventure… the independent and resourceful heroines of these pseudo-autobiographical stories, narrated in the first-person singular, introduce a type of female character quite new to the Italian literary canon.” (The Cambridge Companion to the Italian Novel, p. 35). True to form, the present work follows the adventures of Giustina, who uses her vocal talents on the stage to earn enough money to make the voyage to Paris in order to find her lover. Along the way she fends off at least three different marriage attempts. Giustina is an orphan; early in the novel she is seduced by the Marchese di Brianville who impregnates her and then abandons her. Our intrepid heroine is depicted in the frontispiece clutching a burning torch standing over a corpse – probably relating to Chapter V, “Ca terribile avvenutomi nella Grotta […]”. In addition to the endless series of tribulations suffered by Giustina, Chiari delights in describing the “impresario, invidie, gelosie, amori e le solite peripezie e scene’ (cf Marchesi) of the 18th century theatrical world. Pietro Chiari (1711–85) was apparently the author of a string of novels, often characterized by strong female protagonists. His exact output (as well as the details of his life) seem shrouded in mystery and we believe some doubt should be cast on the authenticity of his authorship. Of the present work, OCLC records US copies of this first edition at Harvard and the Newberry only. A handful of later editions were also published, none held in US libraries. * cf West & Cervigni, Women's Voices in Italian Literature (1989), pp 232-238; and Marchesi, I Romanzi dell'Abate Chiari, p. 35.