Description
First edition of An Enquiry Into The Duties Of The Female Sex by Thomas Gisborne. Octavo, viii, 426pp, [2pp ads]. Contemporary full calf, title in gilt on spine, decorative bands. Previous ownership bookplate affixed to front endpaper. Clean text, toning to endpapers, title page and advertisements at rear. Reinforced front hinge.
Comments: This work by Thomas Gisborne (1758-1846) was written as a reaction to Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Women, published in 1792. Duties of the Female Sex focuses on the fundamental difference between men and women, female education, choosing a husband, children and how women should spend their free time. Jane Austen was known to have read this book in 1805. In a letter to her sister, she writes that she is glad [her sister] recommended “Gisborne.”
