Original Stories from Real Life, with Conversations, Calculated to Regulate the Affections to Form the Mind to Truth and Goodness,
WILLIAM BLAKE. London: JOHNSON, 1791. Frontispiece + 5 plates by WILLIAM BLAKE, viii pages; [2] leaves; 177, [3] pages. 12mo, later 3/4 red morocco, rubbed, spine expertly conserved, light stains, some foxing, etc. All edges gilt, sound internally. "This edition is the first to include Blake's illustrations." Rothschild 2597. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (1759-1797) was an early "feminist" writer, considered at the time to be radical in her thoughts and views on the rights of women and the enslavement and oppression of women. Written in 1788 this first book was a children's book. She was a native of London having established a school at Newington Green with her sister Elisa. "Thoughts on the Education of Daughters: With Reflections on Female Conduct in the More Important Duties of Life" was written as a pamphlet in 1787. "The Female Reader" was published by Joseph Johnson in 1789. but apparently no copies have survived. Her most well-known title "A Vindication of The Rights of Women" was written in 1792. After a return from France, she was involved in a socially radical group that included Blake, Paine, Fuseli and Wordsworth. Although generally opposed to traditional marriage, she eventually married William Godwin, the radical activist, and gave birth to her second daughter, Mary. She died shortly after Mary's birth. Mary went on to marry the great romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelly and, among other titles, wrote "Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus." Wollstonecraft's radical ideas and, her views on women's sexuality made her a target of criticism and distain during the 19th century and may account for the scarcity of these early editions and the complete extinction of "The Female Reader." Item #198
Price: $3,000.00