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Place of creation/publication
France -- Paris, -- publication place.
Item Details
Call number
272991
Folger-specific note
From dealer's description: "F-3. [SCUDÉRY, Madeleine de]. Les Femmes Illustres, ou les Harangues Heroïques… Avec les Veritables Portraits de ces Heroïnes, tirez des Medailles Antiques. Paris: Sommaville & Courbe [-Quinet & Sercy], 1642[-4]. 4to. (16), 442 pp, (6); (12), 632 pp, plus 2 engr. frontispieces, 1 engr. portrait of Georges de Scudéry, and 20 portraits in text (Vol 1) as well as 20 portraits outside of text (Vol 2). Contemporary calf, worn. Ownership inscriptions of William Delaune (1659-1728) of St. John’s College, Oxford, sometime chaplain to Queen Anne. Rare first edition of this popular, striking work authored by Madeleine de Scudéry (1607-1701) but published under the name of her brother, Georges. “One of the more unusual genres invented by [Madeleine de] Scudéry is the rhetorical oration used in Illustrious Women or Heroic Harangues (1642). In this series of discourses by famous women, Scudéry creates fictitious diatribes pronounced by powerful women in a moment of crisis, often on the verge of death. Prominent characters include Cleopatra and Sappho. Many of the harangues criticize the reduction of women to silence by political oppression and the need for women to express themselves forcefully through spoken and written speech. Placed in the mouths of socially prominent women, the orations also defend the right of women to exercise political authority.” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). This first edition is remarkably rare in census and in the trade. Rare Book Hub shows no copy ever offered at auction; OCLC shows a single US copy, at U Penn. Later editions began to appear starting in 1654-5. " Ordered from David Rueger D9774, 2025-10-31, Cat. "WOMEN CAN BE SAVED!" item F-3
