The sacrifice of Isabel: a poem

London: Bensley and Son, 1816. 48pp, [2], 11, [1]. With seven pages of publisher's advertisements at rear. Uncut in original publisher's boards, title written in manuscript on the spine, circular shelf label at base of spine. Boards slightly rubbed with moderate surface wear, small chip to top of spine. Small hole to FFEP at gutter margin, else a fresh copy. Contemporary inscription of Joseph Tasker to FFEP. The first edition of one of Edward Quillinan's (1791-1851) earlier works, The Sacrifice of Isabel is the story of a pair of doomed lovers told through recollection- Quillinan describes the epic as 'so melancholy a cast'. Dedicated to bibliographer and politician Sir Egerton Brydges, a good friend and operator of the prestigious Lee Priory Press, in whose library the poem was written. Quillinan is perhaps best known as an avid defender of the poetry of William Wordsworth. Following Quillinan's retirement from the army and his move to the banks of the Rotha river, between Ambleside and Rydal in 1821, he struck up a close friendship with his famous poet neighbour. Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy were both godparents to the Quillinan's second child, named after the nearby river. Following the tragic death of the child's mother less than a year after Rotha’s birth, the two families became even closer. Wordsworth composed an epitaph to Jemima Quillinan, and after much initial opposition, was eventually to become Edward’s father-in-law when he consented to allow Quillinan and his daughter Dora to marry, in 1841. Jackson, p.412.. First Edition. 12mo.