Harriet and her Cousin; or, Prejudice Overcome
by [Macrae, Lady Flora Maitland]
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Pasadena, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Edinburgh: Thomsons Brothers, 1822. First edition. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards with gilt to spine. Measuring 140 x 80mm and collating complete including frontis and publisher's catalogue to rear: vii, [1, blank], 199, [1, errata], 8, [1, blank]. A Near Fine copy with some scuffing to boards and joints, and small chip to foot of spine. Contemporary ownership inscription to front endpaper: "Margaret Jane Palliser. Dublin 1824." A scarce work of juvenile fiction aimed at young women, it is unrecorded in OCLC and Sadleir (though there is mention of a later 1824 "fourth edition" and an American edition from 1827).
Simple on its surface, each new chapter of Harriet and Her Cousin unfolds a new layer of prejudice that all too commonly prevents young women from finding meaningful connections with each other. Raised in a rural religious household, young Harriet has a spiritual awakening that leaves her soul altered. More excited about the world and the people around her, and more capable of subtle observations, she undertakes a journey to Edinburgh both to visit her soon-to-be-wed best friend Maria as well as to visit her grandfather and cousin Julia. On arrival, Harriet is shocked by Julia's coldness and initially assumes it is prejudice against her own Christianity. Introduced to the sparkling and accomplished ladies of Julia's circle, she then begins to suspect it is prejudice against her simple country nature. Only over time does Julia feel comfortable opening up to Harriet about her loneliness -- an isolation born out of the high society expectations that women reserve warm feelings and engage instead in gossip, back-biting, and flirtations that make them untrustworthy. As she has witnessed Harriet's refusal to conform to these behaviors, Julia bonds with Harriet as an intimate friend capable of deep and meaningful conversation. Indeed, Harriet learns that even with her awakened spirituality, she too has much to learn about dismantling her own prejudices.
Simple on its surface, each new chapter of Harriet and Her Cousin unfolds a new layer of prejudice that all too commonly prevents young women from finding meaningful connections with each other. Raised in a rural religious household, young Harriet has a spiritual awakening that leaves her soul altered. More excited about the world and the people around her, and more capable of subtle observations, she undertakes a journey to Edinburgh both to visit her soon-to-be-wed best friend Maria as well as to visit her grandfather and cousin Julia. On arrival, Harriet is shocked by Julia's coldness and initially assumes it is prejudice against her own Christianity. Introduced to the sparkling and accomplished ladies of Julia's circle, she then begins to suspect it is prejudice against her simple country nature. Only over time does Julia feel comfortable opening up to Harriet about her loneliness -- an isolation born out of the high society expectations that women reserve warm feelings and engage instead in gossip, back-biting, and flirtations that make them untrustworthy. As she has witnessed Harriet's refusal to conform to these behaviors, Julia bonds with Harriet as an intimate friend capable of deep and meaningful conversation. Indeed, Harriet learns that even with her awakened spirituality, she too has much to learn about dismantling her own prejudices.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Whitmore Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 5548
- Title
- Harriet and her Cousin; or, Prejudice Overcome
- Author
- [Macrae, Lady Flora Maitland]
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Publisher
- Thomsons Brothers
- Place of Publication
- Edinburgh
- Date Published
- 1822
Terms of Sale
Whitmore Rare Books
15 day return guarantee, with full refund if an item arrives damaged or not matching the description.
About the Seller
Whitmore Rare Books
Biblio member since 2009
Pasadena, California
About Whitmore Rare Books
We operate a retail shop in "Old Town" Pasadena open normal business hours Tuesday through Saturday.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 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...
- 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....
- 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...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Marbled boards
- ...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...