Secret Memoirs and Manners

Mary de la Riviere (1663-1724).
Secret Memoirs and Manners of Several Persons of Quality of Both Sexes... Second edition. London: J. Morphew, 1709. 2 volumes.
(SPL) PR 3545 .M8 S4 1709

This book from early in the 18th century purports to describe, as the title page indicates, the misadventures of well-born residents of “the New Atlantis, an Island in the Mediteranean” - the type of fantastical story typical of early-1700s novels. It even begins with the cliched opening words, “Once upon a time. . . .” The author, also known as “Mrs. Manley,” supposedly wrote the work originally in Italian.

Gift of J. Max Patrick.