Old Madame and Other Tragedies

Boston: Richard G. Badger & Co., 1900 ** Inscribed by Author to fellow writer, editor and suffragette, Elizabeth G.Jordan, with her bookplate.** Hard cover, 16mo, (measuring 4 ¾ x 7 ¼ inches,) in publisher's original mottled pink cloth with pictorial decoration and titles in black and red, showing a woman's bust surmounted by an American Eagle. Top edges stained pink, others untrimmed, 301 pp. Condition: generally Very Good, with a repair to the cracked binding, slight wear to the cloth at tips, and at front joint. Otherwise clean, mildly age toned and protected in mylar. This represents the first collection of these stories in book form, including: "Old Madame," "Ordronnaux," "The Wages of Sin," Her Story" and "A Lost Identity." Harriet Prescott Spofford ( 1835-1921) is now recognized as a largely under-appreciated, prolific, nineteenth-century female author who regularly portrayed non-stereotypical women in her work. Born in northern Maine, Spofford relocated to a relative's in Newburyport, Massachusetts and was published in contemporary magazines and newspapers in Boston, supporting her siblings upon the death of her parents. She earned the attention and mentorship of a noted Newburyport social reformer and woman's rights advocate, the Rev. Thomas W. Higginson, (who also edited the early works of Emily Dickinson.) Spofford also published a number of novels, poetry, children's literature, detective stories and ghost stories over her long career. The recipient of this book, Elizabeth G. Jordan, (1865-1947), is also noteworthy as a early feminist writer and suffragette activist. She began her career in journalism, later becoming editor at Harper's Bazaar at the turn of the twentieth century. Jordan edited The Sturdy Oak (Henry Holt, 1917), a "composite novel" by fourteen authors whose sale and serialization was to financially support the cause of woman's suffrage. ** The attractive book cover illustration is signed with the intertwined device featuring the initials WHB. It is our opinion this is the signature of Will H. Bradley, (although this particular item is not listed in Bambace.) Stylistically, the type and other design accord. BAL 18534.. **Inscribed to suffragette author and editor Elizabeth G. Jordan, by the Author**. Hard Cover. Very Good. Illus. by **Will H. Bradley book cover design**.