The Governess; or The Little Female Academy Calculated for the Entertainment and Instruction of young ladies in their education. By the Author of David Simple
by [FIELDING, Sarah]
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Holt, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Printed for A. Millar 1749, 1749. Second edition, revised and corrected. 12mo. 155x90mm. pp. x, 146. Contemporary calf, spine with four raised bands, compartments decorated in gilt, second compartment with red morocco label lettered in gilt. Corners slightly bumped, small hole to joint at foot of spine, a few marks to covers. Small tear to margin of B2 not affecting text. Slightly cropped (when the book was bound) but text unaffected. Otherwise, internally very good. Front free endpaper has ownership inscription of Miss R. Assheton in a beautiful copperplate hand. A nice copy of a scarce book, this revised second edition, intended "for the use of schools" appearing in the same year as the first. The Governess is a collection of stories all taking place in a school run by the nominatively determined Miss Teachum. The British Library describes it as "perhaps the first school story" and it is important in being one of the earliest fictional works for children, earlier books for the young tending towards the instructional rather than the entertaining. That said, the author's preface indicates that the "design of the following sheets is to endeavour to cultivate an early Inclination to Benevolence, and a Love of Virtue, in the Minds of Young Women". Sarah Fielding (she writes anonymously) was the sister of Henry Fielding. In addition to The Governess, she wrote three novels and works of history, all of which display an interest in women's social issues. She also wrote a study of Samuel Richardson's Clarissa. Richardson was Sarah's mentor and rated her highly, claiming that she was a better writer than her brother. And, although genteelly educated, she was widely regarded as a better classicist than the expensively schooled Henry. ESTC records only three copies of this edition in the UK (and the same again of the first) with six in the US (where there are eleven copies of the first). Only six copies of the two 1749 editions have appeared at auction in the last eighty years. ESTC: T473
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Details
- Bookseller
- Voewood Rare Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 3853
- Title
- The Governess; or The Little Female Academy Calculated for the Entertainment and Instruction of young ladies in their education. By the Author of David Simple
- Author
- [FIELDING, Sarah]
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- London: Printed for A. Millar 1749
- Date Published
- 1749
Terms of Sale
Voewood Rare Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Voewood Rare Books
Biblio member since 2018
Holt, Norfolk
About Voewood Rare Books
Simon Finch has been a Rare Book Dealer since 1980. He has had shops in Notting Hill Gate, Mayfair and Holt, Norfolk. His firm has handled a wide variety of material from the First Folio of Shakespeare to the wilder shores of the counterculture and everything in between. In 1998, Simon bought Voewood, one of the finest Arts and Crafts and houses and brought it back to life with an eight-year programme of renovation and restoration. Voewood Rare Books, which operates from Voewood, is the continuation for Simon of a long career in the book trade. It also represents an important link with the House. Voewood is always beautiful, surprising, mysterious and perhaps a little disorientating and we aim to bring something of this spirit to the bookshop. Whilst our focus in on the visual arts, literature and the counter-culture, we deal also in a broad range of antiquarian and modern rare books across all subject areas. Our collection can be found here at Biblio and on our website. We are open by appointment and can always be contacted by email.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...