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HOFLAND, Mrs [Barbara].
The Blind Farmer and His Children.
Publisher: London: [by H. Bryer] for J. Harris, 1816
Stock code: 29325
Price: £180 Currency Conversion
First edition of a children's book from the prolific Mrs Barbara Hofland (1770-1844, née Wreaks, widow of Thomas Bradshawe Hoole), author of some 66 titles. She was friends with the architect John Soane and the writers Maria Edgeworth and Mary Russell Mitford, among others (her Advertisement name-checks Miss Edgeworth). "Her most popular books … were her didactic moral tales for children, often depicting the struggles of a Christian family in adverse circumstances. Though characteristic of the period, these often contain realistic details about hardship, work, and ordinary family life … which some scholars think may have influenced Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Dickens's Oliver Twist" (new DNB).
12mo. With [8]pp catalogue at rear. Contemporary unlettered sheep, smooth spine with single gilt rules. Hand-coloured engraved frontispiece (imprint: Published Dec. 1, 1815 by J. Harris). Contemporary ownership inscription of Louisa Albina Fraser dated 16 July 1816 to front free endpaper. Rubbed, spine defective at endcaps, joints cracked and held by upper cord only, one or two trivial stains, still a good copy.
