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until John Stuart Mill’s Subjection of Women (1869) was the argument again stated with such force. William Thompson (1775–1833), socialist and economist, was born into an Irish ascendancy family in Cork. His Introductory Letter is addressed to his silent collaborator, the philosopher Anna Wheeler (1785?–1848), a rebel from the Anglo-Irish gentry. “I long hesitated to arrange our common ideas”, writes Thompson, “anx- ious that the hand of a woman should have the honour of raising from the dust that neglected banner which a woman’s hand [i.e., Wollstonecraft’s] nearly thirty years ago unfolded boldly, in face of the prejudices of thousands of years, and for which a woman’s heart bled, and her life was all but the sacrifice—I hesitated to write”. Their work was provoked by James Mill’s dismissal of political rights for women in his famous Article on Government . Mill argued that almost all women were represented adequately in political matters by their fathers or husbands, and that it was therefore quite unnecessary for them to enjoy formal political rights. This state- ment by one of the leading Benthamites—“among the Utilitari- ans . . . second only to Bentham himself”—alarmed and horrified Thompson and Wheeler. Goldsmiths’ 24707; not in Einaudi or Kress. Rendall, Jane, The Origins of Modern Feminism, Macmillan, 1985, pp. 217–8. £5,500 [102519] 162 WHINYATES, Kitty. Original correspondence of travels in India. 1806–9 Archive: 2 volumes, small folio (332 × 215 mm). Twentieth-century green full calf by Zaehnsdorf, decorative gilt spines, brown calf twin labels, single-line gilt border on sides, richly gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers. Approximately 170 letters sewn on to stubs, many addressed and franked and with remains of wax seals. Family Records : 3 volumes, small folio (340 × 247 mm). Original pale blue-green paper-covered boards recently rebacked in vellum retaining
original paper labels, top edges trimmed, others untrimmed. Family Records with plates and facsimiles of documents. Letters generally in very good con- dition, some creasing and dust-marking, a few tears, inking occasionally a little faint. The family history with light abrasions and peripheral wear to covers. A very good set. Fascinating and extensive archive of some 170 long, vivacious and perfectly legible letters, the majority written from Allahabad, Madras, Calcutta, Benares and Barrackpore between 1793 and 1811, offering many compelling and delightful insights into life there, from the perspective of a spirited and talented young woman . Accompanied by a set of the very scarce and invaluable Family Records , first and sole edition, number 14 of 25 copies signed by the author; volumes I and II “Alice Knight from General Whinyates, 1895”. Sarah Anne Catherine (Kitty) Whinyates (1779–1860), born at Harpton Court, Radnorshire, was the eldest daughter of Thomas and Catherine Whinyates. Her parents sailed for India in 1780 and Kitty was left under the care of her maternal grandmother, Lady Frankland, by whom she was brought up and educated. The Whin- yates family history paints a most engaging picture of her: “she grew up a very lively and accomplished person, and to judge by an early miniature must have been beautiful. Full of intelligence, life and enthusiasm she took an interest in everything that presented to her eager mind, and during her long life her pen was never idle. Her in- numerable letters, tales, essays, and descriptions of scenes and pass- ing events would fill a good sized volume”. Many of these letters are present here and the family history prints a number in extenso . This is an important archive spanning nearly three decades, con- taining letters of genuine immediacy, warmth and vitality, center- ing on the first impressions of India and Anglo-Indian society by a
young woman moving among a privileged milieu. A full list of contents is available on our website or by request. £6,850
[130048]
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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