Women Novelists.

Norton, Mrs. Caroline Elizabeth Sarah [neé Sheridan, afterwards Lady Stirling -Maxwell]. Stuart of Dunleath. A Story of Modern Times. London: Colburn and co., 1851, half-titles in volumes 1 and 2, advertisements at the end of volume 1, final blank at the end of volume 3, original green fine-ripple cloth decorated in blind, spines lettered in gilt, pale yellow endpapers with advertisements, [Sadler 1838a, i.e. copy II; Wolff 5192], spines slightly faded, otherwise a near fine copy--Oliphant, Mrs. Margaret. A Country Gentleman and his Family. London: Macmillan and co., 1886, 3 volumes, half-titles in volumes 1 and 2, advertisements at the end of volume 2, original slate sand-grain cloth, covers ruled in black, spines lettered in gilt, white endpapers, [Sadleir 1849 (but with black endpapers and advertisements also at the end of volume 3); Wolff 5230], some slight offsetting, minor edge-wear to binding--[Harrison, Mary St. Leger.] "Lucas Malet". Mrs. Lorimer. A Sketch in Black and White. London: Macmillan and co., 1883, 2 volumes, half-titles, advertisements at the end of volume 2, original blue sand-grain cloth, blocked in black, lettered in gilt, dark crimson brown endpapers, [not in Sadleir; Wolff 3025], very slight wear to edges of binding; Colonel Enderby's Wife. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1885, 1885, 3 volumes, half-titles, advertisements, some pencil annotations on endpapers, original scarlet fine-ribbed cloth, blocked in black on covers, spines gilt, black endpapers, [not in Sadleir; Wolff 3020], some slight wear on spines with tiny nicks at head and foot-- [Hope, Kate] "Proavia". Through my Spectacles. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1878, 3 volumes, half-titles, original green cloth, monogram in blind on covers, spines gilt, partially unopened, [not in Sadleir or Wolff], minor discoloration to endpapers--[Hector, Annie French.] "Mrs Alexander". The Executor. London: Richard Bentley & Son, 1883, 3 volumes, half-titles, printed in dark blue, original navy-blue cloth, floral endpapers, [Sadleir 34; Wolff 3117 (1885 reprint)], minor foxing to fore-edges, slight discoloration to endpapers, minor wear; A Crooked Path. London: Hurst and Blackett , 1889, 3 volumes, second edition, original cloth--Batson, Mrs Henrietta M. Adam the Gardener. London: Hurst and Blackett, 1894, 3 volumes, advertisements at the end of volume 3, original green cloth decorated and lettered in black and gilt, green endpapers, [not in Sadleir or Wolff], ownership stamps of Robert Brown, very slight bumping to corners, minor wear and fading--Douglas, George, pseud.[i.e. Lady Gertrude Georgina Douglas afterwards Stock.] Brown as a Berry. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1874, 3 volumes, half-titles, advertisements in volumes 1 and 2, original brown cloth decorated in black, spines gilt, pale yellow endpapers, [not in Sadleir or Wolff], contemporary ownership signatures in all volumes of "H. McN. Ferme", minor wear to binding--Romer, Mrs Isabella F. The Bird of Passage; or, Flying Glimpses of Many Lands. London: Richard Bentley, 1849, 3 volumes, frontispiece in volume 1, half-title in volume 1, original mauve-pink cloth prettily decorated in blind and with bird and nest design in gilt, spines lettered in gilt, pale yellow endpapers, [not in Sadleir or Wolff]. book-labels of Louisa Traherne, possibly recased with hinges repaired, some slight spotting, slight fading to spines--Lemore, Clara. Panhala: a wayside wizard. London: Hurst and Blackett, 3 volumes, 1895, half-titles, advertisements at the end of volume 3, original olive-brown cloth decorated in dark green, spines lettered in gilt, green endpapers, [not in Sadleir; Wolff 4058], minor edge-wear--Martin, Mrs. Herbert. From the Silent Past. London: Ward & Downey, 1886, 2 volumes, half-title in volume 2, advertisements at the end of volume 2, original purple-brown cloth gilt, dark brown endpapers, [not in Sadleir or Wolff], ownership stamp of "E.A. Clare", some slighty spotting--Mitford, Mary Russell. Recollections of a Literary Life. London: Richard Bentley, 1852, 3 volumes, half -titles in volumes 1 and 3, preceded by advertisements in volume 1 (as called for), original blue fine-ripple-grain cloth, decorated in blind, spines gilt, preserved in cloth folding box  [Wolff 4821], booplates of Charles Webb and Marshall Laird, presentation inscriptions on title pages from M.A. Webb to Julia  Winstanley, new endpapers, possibly recased, slight wear to edges of binding; first editions,  8vo or 12mo (31)

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The first work is the popular and well-reviewed second novel by the beautiful, witty, charming and highly intelligent social reformer and author Caroline Norton (1808-77), whose contents mirror some of the more dramatic incidents of her extraordinary life. These include a heroine marrying a man she does not love to provide for herself and her mother, then suffering brutally from a violently abusive husband, followed by the deaths of her sons in an avoidable accident. Caroline Norton left her husband in 1836 (this was followed by a notorious court case involving the then Prime Minister Lord Melbourne) and she then found herself penniless and denied any access to her three sons. Her campaigning led to the passing of the Custody of Infants Act 1839, the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 and the Married Women's Property Act 1870. She modelled for the fresco of Justice in the House of Lords by Daniel Maclise, was a friend of Dickens and Samuel Rogers, corresponded with Mary Shelley, and inspired characters in the works of Thackeray and Tennyson.

Mary St. Leger Harrison [née Kingsley], was the third child of the novelist Charles Kingsley (1852--1931). She was based for a large part of her life in Clovelly in North Devon. Her ground-breaking fiction was keenly admired by Henry James, who became one of her closest friends. Lady Gertrude (Georgina) Douglas was the elder daughter of the seventh Marquis of Queensbury (1818-1858), writing several novels under the pseudonymn of George Stock. She married Thomas Stock in 1882.