THE HOUSE OF PEERESSES:; or Female Oratory. Containing the debates of several peeresses on the Bishop of Landaff's Bill for the more effectual Discouragement of the crime of Adultery ..

London: G. Kearsly, 1779. Fifth edition, improved and corrected with upwards of 50 additional illustrations and explanatory remarks. 4to, pp. (6), (5)-56. Bound without the half-title in new boards and end papers, small paper repair at the bottom of the title-page. A fine clean copy. The British Mueum attributes this to Shute Barrington, the Bishop of Landaff; however the NYPL copy has a MSS note suggesting the author is Charles Fox, a more likely candidate. (Not in Halkett and Lainge). The lady president of this "mock meeting " is A****a BA****ss C*****s, late Ma *****ss of C******n. known as AmeIia, Baroness Conyers, Late Marchioness of Carmarthen, who eloped from her husband with a John Byron (who, with his second wife, was the parent of Lord Byron). Parliament granted her husband a divorce in May 1779. In reading through the Parliamentary debates for 1779, we find a dismayed Bishop introducing a bill to discourage adultery: i.e. attempting to prevent the adulterer (read woman) from marrying her lover. Citing the increase in the number of divorces in this recent reign, the Bishop calls upon the Parliament to punish such behavior before the entire social fabric unravels. During the discussion in the House of Commons, Charles Fox vehemently opposes this bill, calling it "unequal, unjust and tyrannical." In this marvelous scathing tract, the titled ladies discuss their marriages, perceptions of their lords and power and in the final vote, recollecting an incident from Don Quixote, decide to toss the Bishop about in a blanket. It seems highly unlikely that the conservative Bishop would have had such a laugh at his own expense. On a more serious note, this is an important look at the state of marriage and divorce during the late 18th century in England.