COPLEY.   ESTHER     This title printed anonymously.
THE NEW FEMALE INSTRUCTOR;
OR YOUNG WOMAN'S GUIDE TO DOMESTIC HAPPINESS; CONTAINING GENERAL RULES FOR THE REGULATION OF FEMALE CONDUCT; TOGETHER WITH THE ELEMENTS OF SCIENCE, AS GEOGRAPHY, ASTRONOMY, NATURAL HISTORY, BOTANY, &c IMPORTANT HINTS IN REGARD TO ECONOMY; ALSO, Examples of Illustrious Women: TO WHICH ARE ADDED, ADVICE TO SERVANTS; A COMPLETE ART OF COOKERY; WITH PLAIN DIRECTIONS FOR CARVING; AND A GREAT VARIETY OF MEDICINAL AND OTHER USEFUL RECEIPTS; BEING AN EPITOME OF ALL THE REQUIREMENTS NECESSARY TO FORM THE FEMALE CHARACTER, IN EVERY CLASS OF LIFE. (a small single line) Illustrated with appropriate Engravings. (a small single line) LONDON: THOMAS KELLY, 17, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCCXXXVII.
8vo. 217 x 147 mm. 1fep. [1] Frontispiece dated 1834. Title page. (1)iv-vi Preface. (1)viii Contents and Directions for plates. (1) 2-3 Introduction. 4-664. (1)666-670 Index. 1fep. Seven plates. Bound in full dark-brown calf with ornate faded gilt-spine re-laid. Text dusty and stained in places. Overall fine.
- Esther Hewlett Copley (1786 - 1851) was a Baptist prolific writer of fiction (children) and histories. Born in London to a French Huguenot silk manufacturer. She married James Hewlett, evangelical curate at St Aldates, Oxford, in 1809, and chaplain at Magdalen and New College. In 1827 she married William Copley a Baptist minister at New Road, Oxford, where she had already joined after the death of her first husband. In 1837 he became minister at Baptist Church, Eythorne, Kent, but her husband suffered signs of alcoholism, and he eventually left her in 1843. She remained at Eythorne until her death in 1851, but left the Baptist chapel in 1844, though she remained a Baptist. She wrote prolifically after 1815, mostly works for children, religious and moral tracts (uniting morality with domestic economy), and sacred history and biography, including The Cook's Complete Guide - 1827. (see item #11258 on this site). Cottage Comforts - 1825, (see item #10930 on this site). Cottage Cookery - 1849. (see item #11016. on this site). The Housekeeper's Guide - 1834. (see item #11269. on this site). The Young Servant’s Friendly Instructor - 1827. Catechism of Domestic Economy - 1850. Among her works for young people are The Old Man's Head, or, Youthful Recollections - 1823. My Mother's Stories, or, Traditions and Recollections - 1838. The Poplar Grove, or, Little Harry and his Uncle Benjamin - 1841. and Family Experiences and Home Secrets -n1851. Among her works written for children are Scripture Natural History for Youth - 1828. Scripture History for Youth - 1829. and Scripture Biography -m1835, and possibly her most significant work, A History of Slavery and its Abolition - 1836.

click on image to enlarge
Information

Antiquarian category
ref number: 11303