Item 59: An Essay on Woman by John Wilkes, Esq., 1788

Item — Box: 6, Folder: 59

Staff Only

An Essay on Woman by John Wilkes, Esq., 1788

Dates

Created: 1788

Access:

All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.

Extent

1 items

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Type of Material:

Satirical Essay/Book

Condition Note:

Good, pages are still intact and words are very legible

Measurements:

7 in. x 4 ⅜ in.

Title:

An Essay on Woman

Description:

The following item dated 1788, depicts a booklet poem entitled Essay on Women by John Wilkes and Thomas Potter. In the satirical work, Wilkes parodies Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man, whose original body attempted to explain the differences between men and women. Wilkes’ recreation was considered lewd and pornographic at the time of its publication and would be the reason for his later removal from Parliament when complaints were brought against it for "the most atrocious Blasphemies." The work is broken into four Books and finishes with The Maid’s Prayer. “At the start of the parliamentary session in November 1763, the essay was read by Sandwich to the House of Lords, who voted it a libel and a breach of privilege. At the same time the Commons, on a government motion, declared “No. 45” a seditious libel. During the Christmas vacation Wilkes, recovering from a wound sustained in a duel provoked by exchanges in the House, stole off to Paris to visit his daughter and decided not to return to face prosecution” (Britannica).