Retrospection, or, a Review of the most striking and important events, characters, situations, and their consequences, which the last eighteen hundred years have presented to the view of mankind. With a Portrait of the Author. In Two Volumes.

PIOZZI, Hester Lynch.

Edité par Printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly. 1801, 1801

[3], vi-xvi, [1], 18-461, [1]p; [3], vi-viii, [1], 10-540pp, engraved frontispiece portrait signed, 'P. Violet' and 'M. Bovi sculp.'. 4to. Lacking half-titles, bound without eight-page publisher's catalogue in volume two & the four pages of Stockdale's proposal for the publication of maps. Marginal stain to pp281-283 vol. I, also visible on book block edge, some foxing & light browning. Contemporary tree calf, rebacked retaining most of original gilt backstrips, red & black morocco labels; title label chipped, rubbed with some loss of decoration, front endpapers replaced. 'In her view, what was needed in a time where prognostication was indulged in with little thought was a perceptive and discerning interpretation of past and present events, particularly for the young. In the preface to Retrospection, Piozzi positioned herself as being able to act as such a guide, noting the necessity of seeing the connecting threads between phenomena: 'No one has leisure to read better books. Young people are called out to act before they know, before they could have learned how those have acted who have lived before them. History is voluminous, and fashionable extracts are so perpetually separated from each other by verses and by essays, that they leave little trace of information on the mind.' In theory, Retrospection should have sold well. The market for millenarian texts was buoyant, and even the most cursory examination of extant books published in the period 1770-1820 suggests a fourfold increase in world history titles. There was no absence of appetite for books outlining the strengths of British policy - including imperial policy against those of the French, or the moral deeds or follies of those in the past. Yet Retrospection failed in the market, and its production was less than straightforward. Piozzi's first choice of publisher, Robinson, thought her claim for a £1,000 advance to be too steep, and John agreed to publish it only if Piozzi bore production costs and took an even split of profits. That appears to have been a wise arrangement, for Piozzi gained less than £100 after 516 sales.' ref: Hughes-Warrington, M. Writing on the Margins of the World: Hester Lynch Piozzis Retrospection (l801) as Middlebrow Art?, 2013. N° de réf. du vendeur 95497

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : Retrospection, or, a Review of the most ...
Éditeur : Printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly. 1801
Date d'édition : 1801
Reliure : Couverture rigide
Signé : Signé par l'auteur