ROBERT BOYLE/WOMEN'S INTEREST - MARY RICH EULOGY 1678

Book Description: Nathanael Ranew, London, 1678. Full Morocco. Book Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. First Edition. 8vo - 7 Inches. Rare eulogy to Mary Rich (nee Boyle, sister of Anglo-Irish scientist, Robert Boyle, and daughter of the first Earl of Cork, Richard Boyle), Countess of Warwick (1624-1678). Bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe in recent top quality full dark brown morocco with raised bands and gilt spine titles. Bookplate of James Stevens Cox to front pastedown. All edges gilt. Minimal shelfwear. Retains the rare portrait frontispiece and with a fine title page black-bordered in funereal fashion. (14), 213 pages + 10 pages ads and verso blank. Collated textually complete though without the blank A1. However we have been unable to trace any copy extant with the A1 blank. All copies on COPAC record (14) pages of prelims or fewer. Occasional brownish splodge or foxing spot, but essentially very tidy. Pages 177-193 a tiny bit shaved down the fore edge margin. Separate title pages for the Countess's 'Occasional Meditations upon Sunday Subjects' and 'Pious Reflections upon Several Scriptures'.

'Mary married Charles Rich, son of the Earl of Warwick who later succeeded to the title as the fourth Earl of Warwick. Both her husband and all her children predeceased her. Before and after her husband's death, the countess was a revered leader in her local Essex community, settling disputes between neighbours, arranging an equitable distribution of income to ministers of various denominations, and giving away a third or more of her income to the poor, the clergy, and local institutions such as Felsted School. Although she led a quiet life at Leighs, Mary remained close to her siblings and other relations, especially her sister Katherine Jones, Lady Ranelagh, and her younger brother Robert Boyle, the natural philosopher, who had dedicated his Some Motives and Incentives to the Love of God (1659) to Mary in gratitude for her pious influence. During the 1660s the countess embarked on various forms of spiritual and autobiographical writings. From about 1663 she wrote intermittent ‘Occasional meditations’ (BL, Add. MS 27356), using homely analogies from housewifery and other feminine concerns to draw godly morals. In July 1666 she began a diary (now BL, Add. MSS 27351–27355), in which she recorded her devotional routine and daily events until the end of her life, and in February 1672 she set down her autobiographical reminiscences, ‘Some specialties in the life of M. Warwicke’ (BL, Add. MS 27357). By the time she died, the countess had attained almost legendary status as a pattern of the saintly life. After her death her writings, including her diaries and occasional meditations, were preserved and annotated by her household chaplain, Thomas Woodroffe, who transcribed exemplary passages under the title ‘Collections out of my Lady Warwick's papers’ (now BL, Add. MS 27351). Extracts from 1666 to 1672 taken from another transcript of the diaries in the possession of the Revd Nathaniel Woodroffe were published by the Religious Tract Society in 1847. The following year the countess's manuscript autobiographical memoir was edited by Thomas Crofton Croker for the Percy Society. Two biographies of the countess were published in 1901, by Charlotte Fell Smith and Mary E. Palgrave respectively ' Sara H Mendelon, DNB.

ONE OF SEVERAL RARE AND ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS WE HAVE FOR SALE TODAY.

Buy with confidence

I am a member of the PBFA (Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association) and operate according to its professional code of conduct which includes a full refund if items are mis-described. For more details go to www.pbfa.org