A Collection of Farces and Other Afterpieces: Which are Acted at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Covent-Garden, and Haymarket de Inchbald [nee Simpson], Elizabeth, (1753-1811) - 1809

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1809. One of the remarkable women in 18th Century London theatre, raised in a family that loved theatre. She set off without permission for London in 1772 to be an actress on the stage. Elizabeth resisted the advances of the theatre manage Dodd pouring hot water upon him. It was then she married the actor Joseph Inchbald (1735-1779). She acted for seventeen years taking several roles in Shakespeare drama as well as farces and dramas. She was close friend of William Godwin but broke from him over his marriage to Mary Wollstonecraft. After performing her last comedy, To Marry or not to Marry, she began writing. This set is her collection of farces which became the standard. She began to write an autobiography which would have been one of the most desired to see the woman's point of view but as a devout Catholic, her priest advised her to destroy them. She continued her correspondence with Maria Edgeworth and Madam de Stael but avoid socializing. She passed away in 1821. All bound in contemporary ¼ calf with corners in vellum, over marbled paper covered boards, flat spines, green morocco spine labels gilt, minor wear to spine ends, boards rubbed, occasional spots of foxing but mostly scattered to title pages. In all, a very handsome set from the library of Henry Wakeman with his early bookplate.