A Series of Letters between Mrs. Elizabeth Carter and Miss Catherine Talbot, from the Year 1741 to 1770. To which are Added, Letters from Mrs. Elizabeth Carter to Mrs. Vesey, between the Years 1763 and 1787; Published from the Original Manuscripts in the Possession of the Rev. Montagu Pennington.

BLUESTOCKING CIRCLE.

Published by London: F. C. and J. Rivington, 1809

About this Item

First octavo edition (second overall) of these letters between three principal figures of the Bluestocking circle, an informal women-led literary discussion group whose members also included Sarah Fielding, Fanny Burney, Edmund Burke, and Samuel Johnson. It was first published in a two-volume quarto edition the previous year; both editions are scarce in commerce. Elizabeth Carter (1717-1806) was the first person to translate the complete works of Epictetus into English. Published in 1758, the translation brought her fame and financial freedom from her father, allowing her to spend more time in London socializing among bluestocking circles. Carter's letters "are for modern readers among her most satisfying productions, at once informal and literary. Witty gossip jostles with sublime philosophy, Christian piety is tempered by ironic insights, and weighty learning is accompanied by a delightful flirtatiousness which comes as a surprise to those only familiar with her Epictetus. Feminist critics have appreciated her strong-mindedness and independent spirit, and, reassessing the cultural significance of the bluestockings, have stressed how, although not fully professional herself, she helped make writing a respectable occupation for women" (ODNB). Catherine Talbot (1721-1770) was a prolific writer who seldom published her own works; instead, she edited her associates' publications, including Samuel Richardson's Sir Charles Grandison (1753) and Carter's Epictetus. For the latter, Talbot lent support in navigating the conflicts between stoicism and Christianity as well as between scholarship and domestic duty. In one letter, Carter confided to Talbot, "whoever that somebody or other is who is to write the Life of Epictetus, seeing I have a dozen shirts to make, I do opine, dear Miss Talbot, it cannot be I" (vol. II, p. 202). The final correspondent collected in this work, Elizabeth Vesey (c.1715-1791), is more mysterious. She has few extant writings, and yet "The brief success of the bluestocking philosophy probably owed more to her than to any of the other women usually identified with this group" (ODNB). The work's editor, Montagu Pennington (1762-1849), was Carter's nephew, executor, and biographer (Memoirs, 1807). 4 vols, octavo (213 x 128 mm). Bound with half-titles and with vol. IV rear advertisement for further works by the authors. Contemporary sprinkled calf, smooth spines with red labels and black numbering roundels, compartments ruled in gilt, board edges tooled in blind, edges sprinkled blue, blue silk bookmarkers. Kinnaird's armorial bookplate on front pastedowns, each with manuscript shelf mark and offsetting facing free endpapers, belonging to Charles Kinnaird, eighth Lord Kinnaird (1780-1826), Scottish politician, and son of the prominent art collector George Kinnaird (1754-1805). Old leather dressing to spines just encroaching on covers, wear to a couple of corners, slight splits to inner hinges, foxing to endpapers, gentle creasing of leaves, occasional soiling and paper flaws without loss, contents generally clean. A very good set.

Seller Inventory # 168107

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Series of Letters between Mrs. Elizabeth Carter and Miss Catherine Talbot, from the Year 1741 to 1770. To which are Added, Letters from Mrs. Elizabeth Carter to Mrs. Vesey, between the Years 1763 and 1787; Published from the Original Manuscripts in the Possession of the Rev. Montagu Pennington.
• Publisher: London: F. C. and J. Rivington, 1809
• Edition: 1st Edition