[VOLTAIRE]. History of Charles XII, King of Sweden. Bâle [Rouen], Christophe Revis [Claude Jore], 1731. 2 volumes in one in-12, fawn calf, spine decorated with cold fleurons, red edges (Binding of the period). First edition of Voltaire's first historical work. Fascinated in his youth by the romantic destiny of the Swedish sovereign, Voltaire had the opportunity to meet one of his former advisors, Baron de Görtz, in Paris in 1717. Ten years later, exiled in England, he befriended another of the king's friends, Baron Fabrice. The information provided by Fabrice, supplemented by confidences gathered from numerous witnesses, enabled him to write a first version of this work in 1728 and 1729. However, the privilege granted to Voltaire by Chauvelin, the Keeper of the Seals in charge of bookshop affairs, was withdrawn because Voltaire had sided with the dethroned King of Poland, Stanislas Leszczynski, against the reigning King, Augustus II. Voltaire then resorted to clandestine advertising for this publication, which was no less clandestine. He spent several months at Cideville in Rouen, where Claude Jore published the officially banned work under a false address. A copy of the Marquise de Balleroy, an attractive and rare contemporary provenance, with her coat of arms painted on the verso of the title. Born Charlotte-Madeleine-Émilie Le Fèvre de Caumartin (1673-1749), she was the daughter of Louis-François Le Fèvre de Caumartin (1624-1687), intendant general of Champagne in Châlons and deputy to the States of Brittany, and the sister of Louis-Urbain (1653-1720), intendant of Finances, who was, in his last years, a friend and one of the protectors of Voltaire. In 1693, she married Jacques de La Cour de Balleroy, Marquis de Balleroy, a member of the Paris Parliament. On his death in 1725, she retired to Normandy, where she kept up an abundant correspondence. Slightly split at one joint; the title page is very slightly missing. Without the errata, printed after the fact and often missing. Bengesco, I, n°1257 - Voltaire à la BN, n°3113 - Le Petit, 537.