Considerations on the Causes of the Present Stagnation of Matrimony...
"The Stagnation of Matrimony": A Radical 1772 Proposal to Reform the Marriage Market [Marriage]. [Great Britain]. Considerations on the Causes of the Present Stagnation of Matrimony, Under the Following Heads. I. The Unreasonable Degree of Influence and Authority which Most Parents Exercise Over Their Children in the Concern of Marriage. II. The High and Elegant Education that is Given to Young Women Beyond the Compass of Their Fortunes and Stations of Life. III. The Debauchery and Extravagance of Young Men. IV. The General Luxurious and Expensive Taste of the Times. All of Which are Evils, That Seem to Call for the Attention of Parliament. London: Printed by T. Spilsbury, for J. Ridley, 1772. [iii]-vii, [1], 71, [1] pp. Complete. Octavo (8-1/4" x 5-1/4"). Stab-stitched pamphlet in plain wrappers. Front wrapper detached, small tears and chips to fore-edges of wrappers, moderate toning, small holes to a few leaves affecting legibility of one word on p. 47. A complete and crisp example of Georgian street literature. $450. * Only edition. Only edition. A fascinating and remarkably modern critique of the social and legal barriers to marriage in late 18th-century England. The anonymous author identifies four primary "evils" calling for Parliamentary intervention: parental tyranny, over-education, male vice, and economic luxury, a general culture of expensive tastes that makes marriage financially daunting. The author moves beyond mere complaint to offer specific legal remedies, including the abolition of the celibacy requirement for fellows at Oxford and Cambridge and a lowering of the age of consent. The work argues for a return to "the simplicity of nature" by allowing young people to follow their affections before they are corrupted by the "pride of life." OCLC and the ESTC locate 10 copies, 5 in North America, 1 in a law library (Library of Congress). English Short-Title Catalogue T68641.
Price: $450.00
Book number 82345