Woman's Mission

[LEWIS, Sarah]

Published by Wiley and Putnam, New York, 1839

About this Item

First American edition. 12mo. 149pp. Publisher's cloth decorated in blind and titled in gilt. Nice contemporary gift inscription: "Presented to Miss Harriett G. Reynolds by E. A. Reynolds, 1840," small spot on rear board, and the spine just a little bit sunned, very near fine. "Sarah Lewis was a writer on the status of women [about whom little is known]. Woman's Mission, published anonymously in 1839 and later attributed to her, is her only work. this influential treatise. aimed at middle-class women within the home whose role [she] wishes to elevate but not extend in any public or political way. she also suggests that female moral influence will have its effect on the wider world, and will ultimately improve social and political attitudes. the reassuringly moderate ideology was well received by reviewers for journals usually on opposite sides of the debates on the question of women. the very moderation of Lewis's position with regard to political rights for women seems to have helped the dissemination of her ideas, which stimulated debate, and explained how far the position of women could be improved without a more radical programme." (*Oxford Dictionary of National Biography*). *OCLC* locates nine copies. A lovely copy in nice original cloth. Seller Inventory # 426137

Bibliographic Details

Title: Woman's Mission

Publisher: Wiley and Putnam, New York

Publication Date: 1839

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near Fine

Edition: 1st Edition