JessicaÕs First Prayer. By the Author of ÒFernÕs Hollow,Ó etc.

[ Smith, Sarah ].

Verlag: London: The Religious Tract Society, [1867]. With three early reprints of the same work.

Beschreibung

Sarah SmithÕs (1832-1911, pseudonym Hesba Stretton) Òfirst story was published in 1859 by Charles DickensÉHer first childrenÕs book was FernÕs Hollow, but it was with her sixth, JessicaÕs First Prayer, that [she] made her mark. Readers first encounter Jessica as Ôa pair of very bright dark eyes fastened uponÉslices of bread and butterÉwith a gaze as hungry as that of a mouse which has been driven by famine into a trap.Õ Over the course of the story, Jessica is not only rescued from poverty but becomes a Christian, her simple piety reforming other characters. Stretton, one of the founders of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, wrote out a deep commitment to raising awareness of the conditions in which children like Jessica lived. Sixteenmo. 92, [4, pub ads] pp. Frontispiece, six full-page engravings, and three textual illustrations. PublisherÕs blue cloth, front board stamped in gilt. Binding extremities lightly worn. Spine and edges of boards have minor toning. Front hinge cracked, but sound. Endpapers slightly foxed, the occasional small smudge or stain. Contemporary ink gift inscription on front flyleaf. Overall, a very good copy of a fragile work. Early reprints bound in red or green cloth and in the same format as the first with light wear and minor soiling to some boards. Very good copies. First edition of a work that originated the genre of ÔArab fictionÕ Ð sentimental stories about poverty stricken young persons on the streets of Victorian cities. ÒTranslated into every European language and briefly used in all Russian schools, JessicaÕs First Prayer was also transported to Asia and Africa by Christian missionariesÉÓ (Grolier 100 Books Famous in ChildrenÕs Literature, p. 162). Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 16896

Bibliografische Details

Titel: JessicaÕs First Prayer. By the Author of ...

Verlag: London: The Religious Tract Society, [1867]. With three early reprints of the same work.

Einband: Hardcover