Tales of the Imagination (in 3 vols.)

[Lester, Elizabeth B.]; [Erroneously attributed to Mrs. Ross]

Published by Longman Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London, 1820

About this Item

Three twelvemo volumes (6 13/16 x 4 in; 173 x 103 mm). [4. blank], [2], 227, [5, blank]; [4, blank], [2], 261, [5, blank]; [4, blank], [2], 252, [4, blank] pp. Bound in contemporary quarter calf over marbled boards ruled in gilt. Spines with four raised bands ruled and lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, marbled edges. Joints a little rubbed but sound. Small, almost invisible 19th century blank library label on each spine. Bookplate of the Loyal Alyth Public Library on front paste down of both volumes. A few of the library's inked stamp to some leaves, mainly blanks. A very good set of a difficult to find title. This book was, up until quite recently, attributed to Mrs. Ross, the "obscure but remarkable author " (Feminist Companion to Literature in English) of thirteen anonymously written, respected novels of the Romantic Movement, which produced "an influential generation of women writers, including M. Wollstonecraft, D. Wordsworth, M. Shelley and the Bronte sisters (Oxford Companion to English Literature). Recent research, however, has firmly established that six of these thirteen novels, each possessing a "confident-seeming literary style, and broad evangelical emphasis" (Garside) were, in fact, written by Mrs. Elizabeth B. Lester, of whom little is known. Garside, Raven and Schöwerling 1820: 45. Wolff 5974 (sub Ross). Garside, Mrs. Ross and Elizabeth B. Lester: New Atributions, Cardiff Corvey: Reading the Romantic Text 2 (June 1998). Seller Inventory # 6331

Bibliographic Details

Title: Tales of the Imagination (in 3 vols.)

Publisher: Longman Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London

Publication Date: 1820

Edition: First edition.