AN ACCOUNT OF SUEDEN:

8vo, pp. [x], 196, title within ruled border; without the half-title; contemporary mottled calf, spine expertly rebacked; inscribed on front pastedown 'William Graves, Inner Temple 1762'.

Chaplain to the English embassy at the Court of Sweden from 1680 to 1687 and 1694-1709, Robinson's ^gAccount of Sweden^g, 'stored with useful information set forth in a style not unlike that of a modern consular report', is a significant portrayal of Swedish politics at the close of the century. It became hugely popular on publication and was translated into several languages.

During his time there, Robinson had so ingratiated himself at the Swedish Court that Marlborough granted him more of a diplomatic than a clerical role. After one bout of negotiations, in which Robinson was used as interpreter, Marlborough commented 'I am persuaded that these gentlemen would be very uneasy should it pass through any other hands'.

'In April 1694 just as Robinson was trying to secure his [second] appointment, a version of his ^gAccount of Sweden^g was published anonymously and without his permission in London. Anxious about the effect that this might have on his career—concerned that its very frankness might damage his close Swedish connections, unable to correct information changed in the published version without revealing that he wrote the Account, and possibly worried in case the (unpublished) dedication to [King] James came to light—he became seriously ill and recovered only in June, but his efforts to maintain the secrecy of his authorship earned him credit in London. He continued to be favourably received in Stockholm, and William III promoted him in August 1694 to agent, the rank he had previously held in 1683–8, and to supplement his income granted him the benefice of Lastingham, Yorkshire, which he held until 1709. Robinson presented his new credentials on 28 September 1694, without any ceremony, and had a conversation in Swedish during which Charles XI told Robinson that he 'had long found me a good Swede; and well informed in all their affairs' [ODNB]

This copy belonged to William Graves (1724-1801) sometime Member of Parliment for East Loo in Cornwall.