DE DURAS, Claire. Ourika. Berlin: Librairie de Duncker et Humblot, 1824. 16mo (4 1/4 x 6 3/4), 112pp, paper wrappers (toning overall with some stains to the cover, splits and flaking at the edges). Published just one year prior, Ourika is a fictionalized account of the life of a woman who was purchased as a young child by the Chevalier de Boufflers, the administrator of Senegal, and raised by the affluent de Beveau family. Credited as the first French text to depict a Black character with complex motivations and intellect, the novel takes place amidst the backdrop of the French Revolution, and challenged conventional perceptions of race in France in particular and Europe more generally.

MELESVILLE and CARMOUCHE. Ourika, ou La Petite Negresse, Drame en un Acte. Paris: Chez Quoy, 1824. 8vo (5 x 8 in.), 31pp, paper wrappers (toning, with some staining and chipping to edges, penciled notations on front wrapper), Published just one year after the novel's original release, the play in a single act demonstrates the immediate cultural impact that the novel had.

Though now more than two-hundred years old, Ourika's story still resonates with audiences today through its depiction of an intelligent and passionate main character prevented from achieving her goals and desires as a result of a characteristic she cannot hide or control.