An Essay on Anger.

FAWCETT, John.

Edité par Leeds: Printed by Thomas Wright, for the author, and sold by Mr T. Wills [& 2 others in London], Mr Spence, York; Mr Binns, Leeds; and the Booksellers in Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, &c, 1787

First edition of the author's analysis of the nature and socio-religious status of anger. In the Essay, John Fawcett (1740-1817), a Baptist minister in Yorkshire, addresses three primary aspects of anger as an emotional experience. He begins with a short examination of the origins and causes of anger in human nature, before moving to his primary focus: the legitimate and illegitimate expressions of anger in contemporary society. Helpfully, he concludes by outlining various measures by which his readers might control their anger, the first of which is an exhortation to remember the importance of "domestic happiness and tranquility" (p. 103). Fawcett wrote his work against the late 18th-century re-orientation of gentlemanly identities towards models of politeness and sensibility - as compared with the image of the exuberant, emotional, and duel-prone gentlemen of Restoration England (Shoemaker, p.526). The Essay forms part of a strand of works which sought to redefine anger within this shift as an exclusively male vice which was particularly inappropriate for gentlemen - although, befitting his calling, Fawcett's work is more explicitly salvational in tone. The Essay, which was published by subscription, exerted a reach far beyond its provincial origins: according to a posthumously published account of Fawcett's life, it was read and "perused with approbation" by no less a person than George III (Account of the Life, p. 271). ESTC T140544. An Account of the Life, Ministry, and Writings of the Late Rev. John Fawcett, 1818; Robert B. Shoemaker, "The Taming of the Duel: Masculinity, Honour and Ritual Violence in London, 1660-1800", The Historical Journal, vol. 45, no. 3, 2002. Duodecimo (178 x 102 mm). Complete with half-title, table of contents, and list of subscribers. Contemporary sheep, recently rebacked, spine with raised bands forming 5 compartments ruled in gilt, second and third lettered in gilt, remainder with floral ornament tooled in gilt, new endpapers preserving the originals. Moderate bumping, rubbing and wear, several spots of stripping to covers, browning to outer leaves, sporadic light foxing to contents: a very good copy. N° de réf. du vendeur 167863

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : An Essay on Anger.
Éditeur : Leeds: Printed by Thomas Wright, for the author, and sold by Mr T. Wills [& 2 others in London], Mr Spence, York; Mr Binns, Leeds; and the Booksellers in Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, &c, 1787
Edition : Edition originale