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1787 fourth edition 'Printed for J. Debrett, opposite Burlington-House Piccadilly (London), 5 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches tall hardbound, marbled boards over black cloth spine, [4], 50 pp. With a half-title. Minor rubbing to covers. Staining to half title page, and slight foxing to title. Otherwise, a very good copy - clean, bright and unmarked - of an important eighteenth century political pamphlet. Reference: ESTC No. T82992. ~LLL~ A stinging rebuke to the lambasting in print of the Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, in a pamphlet entitled 'A Short Review of the Political State of Great Britain,' which had been published anonymously in January 1787 by author Nathaniel William Wraxall (1751-1831) and which had attracted a great deal of attention, and sales. Within a few days after publication of the 'court pamphlet,' six editions, each consisting of 1,000 or 1,500 copies, were sold, and the publisher, Debrett (which also issued this response) estimated the total sales of the English edition (it was also translated into French) at 17,000 copies. Authorship of this reply is sometimes attributed to Irish-born British politician and pamphleteer Sir Philip Francis, the supposed author of the 'Letters of Junius' and the chief antagonist of Warren Hastings (1732-1818). Francis' accusations against Hastings led to the Impeachment of Warren Hastings by Parliament, which has been described as 'probably the British Isles' most famous, certainly the longest, political trial.' In the introduction to Wraxall's posthumous memoirs, editor Henry Wheatley comments, 'Wraxall says that the Prince of Wales sent repeatedly to Debrett [the publisher] peremptorily demanding to know from him the name of the author, and menacing him with prosecution for libel. If this was the case, it seems probable that the secret of the authorship was well kept, for a few years after Wraxall was on friendly terms with the Prince of Wales, and it is scarcely probable that the Prince suspected the authorship of the pamphlet. Seller Inventory # LLL-0341-401
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