The Lives, Heroic Deeds and Sayings of Gargantua and His Son Pantagruel, in Three Volumes (The World's Classics CCCCXI, CCCCXII, and CCCCXIII [411, 412, & 413], Vols. I-III)

xl, 382; ix, 392; ix, 332 pp. 8vo. A complete edition of Rabelais's , Gargantua and Pantagruel series, including all five books (many editions include only the first two). The stories follow two giants, and were originally controversial for their lewd humor. Despite this, a number of the words Rabelais coined in the writing of the books remain part of modern French vernacular, and the books are applauded for the author's skill in satire and wordplay. Translated by Thomas Urquhart and Peter Le Motteux, and newly annotated. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: "François Rabelais (c. 1494 – April 9, 1553) was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor and humanist. He was regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, dirty jokes and bawdy songs. Using the pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier (an anagram of François Rabelais minus the cedilla on the c), in 1532 he published his first book, Pantagruel, that would be the start of his Gargantua series. In this book, Rabelais sings the praises of the wines from his hometown of Chinon through vivid descriptions of the eat, drink and be merry lifestyle of the main character, the giant Pantagruel and his friends. Despite the great popularity of his book, both it and his prequel book on the life of Pantagruel's father Gargantua were condemned by the academics at the Sorbonne for their unorthodox ideas and by the Roman Catholic Church for its derision of certain religious practices. Rabelais's third book, published under his own name, was also banned.With support from members of the prominent du Bellay family (especially Jean du Bellay), Rabelais received the approval from King François I to continue to publish his collection. However, after the king's death, Rabelais was frowned upon by the academic elite, and the French Parliament suspended the sale of his fourth book. Gargantua and Pantagruel tells the story of two giants - a father, Gargantua, and his son, Pantagruel - and their adventures, written in an amusing, extravagant, and satirical vein. While the first two books focus on the lives of the two giants, the rest of the series is mostly devoted to the adventures of Pantagruel's friends - such as Panurge, a roguish erudite maverick, and Brother Jean, a bold, voracious and boozing ex-monk - and others on a collective naval journey in search of the Divine Bottle. Even though most chapters are humorous, wildly fantastic and sometimes absurd, a few relatively serious passages have become famous for descriptions of humanistic ideals of the time. In particular, the letter of Gargantua to Pantagruel and the chapters on Gargantua's boyhood present a rather detailed vision of education. It is in the first book where Rabelais writes of the Abbey of Thélème, built by the giant Gargantua. It pokes fun at the monastic institutions, since his abbey has a swimming pool, maid service, and no clocks in sight. The French Renaissance was a time of linguistic controversies. Among the issues that were debated by scholars was the question of the origin of language. What was the first language? Is language something that all humans are born with or something that they learn (nature versus nurture)? Is there some sort of connection between words and the objects they refer to, or are words purely arbitrary? Rabelais deals with these matters, among many others, in his books. The early 16th century was also a time of innovations and change for the French language, especially in its written form. The first grammar was published in 1530, followed nine years later by the first dictionary. Since spelling was far less codified than it is now, each author used his own orthography. Rabelais himself developed his personal set of rather complex rules. He was a supporter of etymological spelling, i.e. one that reflects the origin of words, and was thus opposed to those who favoured a simplified spelling, one that reflects the actual pronunciation of words. Rabelais' use of his native tongue was astoundingly original, lively, and creative