The Epistles of Clio and Strephon [ title continued below ]:

London: J. Hooke, at the Flower-de-Luce, in Fleet Street [& 2 others], 1720. [title continued]: Being a Collection of Letters That passed between an English Lady, and an English Gentleman in France who took an affection to each other, by reading accidentally one another's Occasional Compositions both in Prose and Verse.First edtion, First Issue. Engraved head and tail pieces. 8vo (7 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches), pages: xxiv (Dedication to Sir Richard Steele):xxv-lxviii (A Critical Essay....by way of Letter from Mr. John Porter...):131, contemporary full panelled tan calf, 20th Century very neat reback in tan calf with lettering piece. Contemporary signature 'Nichs Marshall' on front fly. Anon. Rare. Clio was Fowke's "literary" name for herself while Strephon was the poet and journalist William Bond. The work is an exchange of letters in verse and prose. Fowke's poetry sometimes expresses her frustration with the conventional expectations of a woman's place in 18th Century society; her former friend and fellow-writer Eliza Haywood attacked Fowke in a scandalous account of her relationships which affected the poet's reputation badly.