Beskrivelse
Letters written during a short residence in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
J. Johnson, St. Paul’s Churchyard, London, 1796. [2, title, verso blank], [2 “Advertisement”], 262pp, [2, appendix], [2, notes], [2, advertisements]. Complete with the often missing sheet of advertisements of the author’s earlier works. 8vo. First edition. Later half calf with richly decorated spine.
A very thin line, bookworm, affecting 14 pages, see photos. A beautiful copy still.
Svinesund – Fredrikshald – Larvik – Tønsberg – Larvik – Helgerøa – Portør – Risør – Helgerøa -Tønsberg – Moss – Christiania – Fredrikstad – Sarpsfossen – Strømstad (1795).
Schiötz 1195a*, Bring 290, Windle & Pippin A7a.
The final advertisement sheet comprises a bibliography of Mary Wollstonecraft’s work to that date and is of great interest: first, it shows that her first two books were still in print; second, it proves one could order both Original Stories and Elements of Morality with or without illustrations (both were illustrated by Blake); third, it shows a slight change of title for the Vindication of the Rights of Men (here Man); finally, it confirms her authorship of, or at least serious participation in the writing of, The Female Reader (1789), of which Todd had never seen a copy, and which the BMC records as by “Mr. Cresswick.” As the title appears last on the list, all of which is under the heading “Published by the Author of these Letters,” it can safely be assumed that Johnson would not eagerly advertise another writer under Mary Wollstonecraft’s banner and that therefore that book must be substantially her work. Letters is based on letters to Gilbert Imlay, written when Mary Wollstonecraft visited Scandinavia in the summer of 1795. She makes some incidental remarks comparing the women of Scandinavia with those of England and America (Imlay was American) and discusses methods of rearing illegitimate children – of particular interest to Wollstonecraft, since she had borne an illegitimate child by Imlay only two years earlier. Wollstonecraft travelled with her child and maid while suffering a great personal unhappiness. There are references to her theories of women’s education and her view of the national character in the nations she visits, comparing them to society in England and France. It is the first published account in English of a woman travelling on business. ”When Johnson published the Letters they found an enthusiastic public, not least among young poets. The wording of her description of the waterfalls she visited appears to have played a part in inspiring Coleridge’s description of the sacred river Xanadu; and the theme of the book set a fashion for questing romantic journeys. Byron, Wordsworth, Shelley and Mary’s as yet unborn daughter Mary, who sends her Frankenstein north at the end of his story, all read and followed in Mary Wollstonecraft’s footsteps.” (Tomalin, The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft, Penguin 1992, p. 228).