Lectures on the art of reading [Parts I & II]

London: printed for J. Dodsley, Pall-Mall; J. Wilkie, St. Paul's Church-Yard; E. and C. Dilly, in the Poultry; and T. Davies, Russel-Street, Covent-Garden, MDCCLXXV, 1775. First Edition. Paper-Covered Boards. Fine. First Edition, in two parts (volumes): Part I. The art of reading prose. Part II. The art of reading verse. 8vo: xii,392; [4, including Errata],411,[1, publisher's advertisement]pp. Beautifully bound by Fitterer in marbled paper-covered boards, printed paper labels on spines. A superb set, clean, bright, and free of foxing. Lowndes 2380. Sheridan was an Irish stage actor, educator (and, incidentally, godson of Jonathan Swift and father of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan), as well as a major proponent of the elocution movement. In Western classical rhetoric, elocution (the art of delivering speeches) was one of the five core disciplines of pronunciation, emerging as a formal discipline during the eighteenth century. Sheridan's lectures on the subject, collected in Lectures on Elocution (1762) and Lectures on Reading (1775), provided directions for marking and reading aloud passages from literature. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).