Book Review
Jazmyne Abraham
Publishing Information
Cottage dialogues among the Irish peasantry was traditionally published, as opposed to a self-published, in London, England in 1811, which would have been well into Leadbeater’s career as she was first published in 1790. According to the Women’s Print History Project page, this book fits the genres of fiction, education, and domestic; however, due to the heavy influence of real-life dialogue and experiences, it is almost more biographical with some fictional liberties. The book, as displayed on page II, is written by Mary Leadbeater, with contributions from Maria Edgeworth by way of notes and a preface. The publisher was Joseph Johnson, and Thomas Bentley was the printer. Joseph Johnson appears to have been a well-respected and high-profile publishing firm as they were also the publishers of several other eminent women, including Lucy Aikin, Maria Edgeworth, and Anna Barbauld. Johnson is credited to “help[ing] shape the thoughts of an era by publishing the works of some of the biggest thinkers,” including William Wordsworth, John Newton, etc. (Schafer, par 1). Being that Leadbeater was known as a political commentator, they would have complemented each other’s interests. With their established reputation and impressive roster of known writers, the works they put out were wide-spread and reached a significant audience. Similarly, Thomas Bentley was also responsible for the printing of works by other esteemed writers, such as Sarah Trimmer and, again, Anna Barbauld. Given that both firms associated with this book were well established, it is clear that Leadbeater’s work was successful in its time and likely well distributed.
Physical Contents
Being that I am using a digital copy of the book to perform this analysis, it does pose a challenge in attempting to get a feel for the physicality of the book. That being said, the copy uploaded in the archive, which was provided by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is quite clear and should prove to be sufficient. The binding of this book is described as “quarter calf with gold tooled spine” (Marsh’s Library, Description), but this may not be run true for every copy produced. These were traditional binding materials during the nineteenth century usually because books needed to be feasible to produce on larger scales, due to the increase in literacy and therefore the increase in demand for books, without compromising the integrity of the book and the decoration (Gourlay, par 2). However, being that the cost of this book was 12 shillings, it was a little pricier than most, appealing more so to upper classes (Women’s Print History Project). The use of common materials that were meant to keep books affordable is another signifier that this book was accessible to a large audience. I have been unable to find an original cover of Cottage dialogues among the Irish peasantry. Given the yellowed pages and taped seams near the end of the novel, this book is not in its best condition, acting as further evidence for this assumption. The format of this book is referred to as ‘duodecimo’, also known as ‘12mo’, which was a common format during the nineteenth century. This is a sizing technique where a printed sheet is folded into twelve leaves, making twenty-four pages. In contemporary literature, mass market paperbacks can be used as a size reference (Women’s Print History Project).
Contents
This version of the book, preface, glossary, and notes included, is 343 pages long, consisting of 54 dialogues or conversations. These conversations mostly occurred between the characters Nancy and Rose, although there were several with other characters as well, including Betty, Mary and Tommy, whom are of the Irish lower class. According to Maria Edgeworth, another author and dear friend of Leadbeater’s who wrote the preface, glossary, and notes, the language used in this novel is a “literal transcript of [peasantry] language” (Edgeworth, iv). This indicates that Leadbeater did extensive research and observation on the peasants of Ireland in order to adequately represent their dialect, along with what comes with their socio-economic status. The words and conversations of this book were deliberately chosen with care to tell an accurate, realistic story.
Glossary, Notes & Preface
The glossary, notes, and preface are distinctive elements in terms of the bibliographical nature of Cottage dialogues among the Irish peasantry. The preface was written by Leadbeater’s friend Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish author of Castle Rackrent, the year before the book was published and provides background information in not only the contents of the novel, but Leadbeater’s writing and publishing process as well. By having another established author contribute to this project, Cottage dialogues among the Irish peasantry would have been exposed to her audience as well. Being that Edgeworth was a well-known author in Ireland at the time as well, her taking part in novel was likely an intentional act of promotion. According to Edgeworth’s introduction piece, this book went through many of Leadbeater’s friends, many of which were authors themselves, before moving forward with publishing. This tells us that the novel went through a rather extensive informal review process prior to reaching the publishing firm, which tells us that Leadbeater’s circle was in support of her work. Edgeworth also mentioned Leadbeater’s close relationship with politician Edmund Burke in the introduction, which sets the tone for this book to be read through a political lens. During the short preface, Edgeworth declares Leadbeater’s writing as an accurate re-telling of the lives of the peasantry and that she is an honourable writer. Considering the political nature of the book and the subject matter, it could have easily been taken as a mockery, which is why Edgeworth’s disclaimer would have been necessary. At the end of the novel, the glossary and notes go through quotes from most of the pages and provides details, context, clarifications, etc. Being that this book is written entirely in dialogue, there is no narration, which could be a reason the glossary and notes segments were necessary for this specific novel to provide the readers with subtext, setting and context. Upon reading through the glossary and notes section in relation to the body of the text, Leadbeater is offering a translation of peasantry dialect to the upper-class dialect. An example of this would be when the glossary clarifies that “to raise an argument” means “to dispute” (p. 296). In addition to the pricing, these accommodations are another indicator that the book was written with the upper-class audience in mind.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Cottage dialogues among the Irish peasantry by Mary Leadbeater, with contributions from Maria Edgeworth, was traditionally published and a standard novel in terms of bibliographical elements. The materials used for the binding was common at the time, as was the duodecimo formatting. Being that the novel was published and printed by well-known, reputable firms, in addition to the fact that Leadbeater was decades into her career at the point of publishing, it is a safe assumption that Leadbeater’s work was well distributed, accessible, and in demand. Overall, the production of this book indicates that Leadbeater was a respected author with an audience.