Rachel: A Tale

Bookseller Notes

The rare first edition. It is, from the second edition onwards, in catalogues, attributed to Jane Taylor (of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, little star' fame), but it seems unlikely, and it is not so, for instance, in the BL catalogue (the sole location of the first edition in COPAC: not in WorldCat). If it were by her it would be a very late production, and one cannot imagine the publisher not promoting the book without her name. Besides, in this copy, in the advertisements at the end, are included this book (unattributed), and others by Jane Taylor, with her authorship prominently paraded. Moreover, the work is adduced in the Preface as 'a first attempt.' In the advertisements it is included among the 'Superior Books for Young People', but it is not exactly juvenile fare.The binding is a rather humble one to merit a ticket, but so it does: one can see something more elaborate by Picken from the Ramsden collection now in the BL, on-line.