1789
Mary Wollstonecraft
The Female Reader: Or Miscellaneous Pieces in Prose and Verse Selected from the Best Writers and Disposed under Proper Heads: For the Improvement of Young Women, By Mr. Cresswick, Teacher of Elocution, to Which is Prefixed a Preface, Containing Some Hints on Female Education
C
The main notable thing here is that Wollstonecraft was the actual editor, using the "Cresswick" pseudonym. Also, it's nice that she was encouraging the skill of elocution in young women. However, the preface isn't that interesting in itself.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Original Stories from Real Life
1788
Mary Wollstonecraft
Original Stories from Real Life; with Conversations Calculated to Regulate the Affections, and Form the Mind to Truth and Goodness
C
Not terribly original or realistic, a governess tells her charges stories to regulate etc.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Original Stories from Real Life; with Conversations Calculated to Regulate the Affections, and Form the Mind to Truth and Goodness
C
Not terribly original or realistic, a governess tells her charges stories to regulate etc.
Mary: A Fiction
1788
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary: A Fiction
C
Although this is "a fiction," the main character shares Wollstonecraft's first name, and the parents are named after Wollstonecraft's. Also, some of the fictional Mary's life resembles the author's. As with most of the works in MWR, this is just an excerpt, but it's enough to give a taste of a sad, almost plotless tale.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary: A Fiction
C
Although this is "a fiction," the main character shares Wollstonecraft's first name, and the parents are named after Wollstonecraft's. Also, some of the fictional Mary's life resembles the author's. As with most of the works in MWR, this is just an excerpt, but it's enough to give a taste of a sad, almost plotless tale.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Thoughts on the Education of Daughters
1786, New American Library edition of A Mary Wollstonecraft Reader 1983
Mary Wollstonecraft
Thoughts on the Education of Daughters
Original price $3.95, bought used for unknown
Paperback in not bad condition
B-
Wollstonecraft's first published work offers advice on bringing up girls, some of it reasonable (like breastfeeding) and some of it dubious (like discouraging platonic friendships with men). An interesting glimpse into 27-year-old Mary's mind, before most of the dramatic events of her adulthood.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Thoughts on the Education of Daughters
Original price $3.95, bought used for unknown
Paperback in not bad condition
B-
Wollstonecraft's first published work offers advice on bringing up girls, some of it reasonable (like breastfeeding) and some of it dubious (like discouraging platonic friendships with men). An interesting glimpse into 27-year-old Mary's mind, before most of the dramatic events of her adulthood.
Evelina
1778, Signet Classic edition 1992
Fanny Burney
Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World
Original price $6.95, bought used for unknown
Paperback in pretty bad condition
B
Far more genteel than Humphry Clinker, this novel was one of Jane Austen's major influences. Austen wrote both parodies and homages of such Burneyan characters as stiff, aristocratic love interests; naive, sentimental young ladies; and crude, embarrassing relatives. Even without the Austen connection, this story told through letters from and about Evelina "Anville" (the pseudonymous last name being almost an anagram of the first) is a fun, quick read (despite being 400+ pages). That's why the condition is so poor for a (relatively new for me) edition: I've reread it every two or three years since I bought it.
Fanny Burney
Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World
Original price $6.95, bought used for unknown
Paperback in pretty bad condition
B
Far more genteel than Humphry Clinker, this novel was one of Jane Austen's major influences. Austen wrote both parodies and homages of such Burneyan characters as stiff, aristocratic love interests; naive, sentimental young ladies; and crude, embarrassing relatives. Even without the Austen connection, this story told through letters from and about Evelina "Anville" (the pseudonymous last name being almost an anagram of the first) is a fun, quick read (despite being 400+ pages). That's why the condition is so poor for a (relatively new for me) edition: I've reread it every two or three years since I bought it.
Friday, December 16, 2011
The School for Scandal
1777
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
The School for Scandal (see She Stoops to Conquer for more details)
C+
Ladies and gentlemen gossip, worry about money, and have (or attempt to have) romantic intrigues. The characters are less interesting than in She Stoops to Conquer, although I do like some of the witty lines, particularly in the "auction scene." Also notable for having a relatively sympathetic Jewish character.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
The School for Scandal (see She Stoops to Conquer for more details)
C+
Ladies and gentlemen gossip, worry about money, and have (or attempt to have) romantic intrigues. The characters are less interesting than in She Stoops to Conquer, although I do like some of the witty lines, particularly in the "auction scene." Also notable for having a relatively sympathetic Jewish character.
She Stoops to Conquer
1773, Bantam Pathfinder Edition 1966 (includes The School for Scandal as well)
Oliver Goldsmith
She Stoops to Conquer; or, The Mistakes of a Night
Original price 60 cents, bought used for 40 cents
Cover has fallen off, otherwise OK condition for its age
B-
The subtitle mostly refers to the mistakes of the character Marlow, who thinks that a private house is an inn. The "she" of the main title is Miss Hardcastle, who passes herself off as a barmaid in order to woo Marlow, who is shy with ladies but amorous with women "beneath him." Meanwhile, Miss Hardcastle's cousin Miss Neville has a romance with Marlow's friend Hastings. And then there's Tony Lumpkin, Miss Hardcastle's half-brother and Miss Neville's very reluctant suitor, who's introduced as an immature lump but ends up being the most likable character. Plus, various parents and other elders. A pretty good farce overall.
Oliver Goldsmith
She Stoops to Conquer; or, The Mistakes of a Night
Original price 60 cents, bought used for 40 cents
Cover has fallen off, otherwise OK condition for its age
B-
The subtitle mostly refers to the mistakes of the character Marlow, who thinks that a private house is an inn. The "she" of the main title is Miss Hardcastle, who passes herself off as a barmaid in order to woo Marlow, who is shy with ladies but amorous with women "beneath him." Meanwhile, Miss Hardcastle's cousin Miss Neville has a romance with Marlow's friend Hastings. And then there's Tony Lumpkin, Miss Hardcastle's half-brother and Miss Neville's very reluctant suitor, who's introduced as an immature lump but ends up being the most likable character. Plus, various parents and other elders. A pretty good farce overall.
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