An error has occurred while processing this page. The site administrator has been notified. We apologize for the inconvenience.
122
WROTH, MARY, Lady. The Countesse of Montgomeries Urania. 1621
FEMINIST LITERARY CORNERSTONE WROTH, MARY, Lady. The Countesse of Montgomeries Urania. [2], 558 [i. e., 548], 48 pages, including engraved title by Simon van de Pass (trimmed to image with clean tear repaired on verso, and hinged backward to front free endpaper, facing page 1). Folio, 267x178 mm, early 19th-century 1/2 tree calf with morocco lettering pieces, worn, spine ends chipped, covers detached; marginal dampstaining in lower margins and soiling through most of volume, lower inner corner of B1 torn and restored with text loss, marginal ink smudges on page 275, hole through woodcut tailpiece on Oo1, short vertical tear in upper margins of gathering Pp, upper outer corner off last leaf affecting pagination. George Folliot bookplate. London: Joh[n] Marriott and John Grismand, 1621
- Notes: first edition of the first work of english prose fiction by a woman. Born into the distinguished Sidney family, Wroth (1587-1653) drew on her own experiences (including a short unhappy marriage and a later illicit liaison with her cousin the Earl of Pembroke) and on literary antecedents such as The Faerie Queene and Amadis de Gaule to create a pastoral romance that was at the same time a roman à clef alluding to contemporary English court scandals. She withdrew the book after publication because of negative reactions to its sensational topicality. "The diffuse plot of the Urania, filled with hundreds of characters, is loosely organized around the narrative of Pamphilia''s constant love for the unfaithful Amphilanthus. Pamphilia writes poetry expressing her love, and she confides in her friend Urania. She also assumes her uncle''s throne to become queen of Pamphilia. Involved in various enchantments, she rescues her friend Urania from the Tower of Love; together the friends are later confined in a magical theatre . . . Freely adapting a traditional romance form to accommodate the experience and perceptions of a Jacobean woman, the Urania has proven itself as a valuable text for feminist readings of early modern society" (ODNB). STC 26051. While ESTC locates 14 institutional copies, 7 of them in the U.S., the book rarely appears on the market. No copy of Urania has been sold at auction since 1974, prior to the widespread recognition and appreciation of its place in the feminist literary canon; ABPC records only 3 others before that, in 1943 (this copy?), 1930, and 1918.
- Condition: All items are offered for sale subject to Swann Galleries'' standard terms and conditions of sale, which are published in our catalogues.
Accepted Forms of Payment:
April 19, 2007 10:30 AM EDT
New York, NY, US
Swann Auction Galleries
You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 0% and any applicable taxes and shipping.