ROWSON, Mrs [Susanna Haswell] (1762-1824). Reuben and Rachel; or, Tales of Old Times. Boston: Manning & Loring for David West, 1798.

First edition of Rowson's rare 1798 epistolary novel. Reuben and Rachel traces ten generations of Christopher Columbus's descendants (beginning with the marriage of his son to a Peruvian princess) and ending with the title characters. Though Rowson is perhaps best-known for Charlotte Temple, Reuben and Rachel was brought back into print in 2009. Of the new edition, professor of English Michael Householder recommended it to "anyone seeking to understand how an eighteenth-century feminist conceived of gender roles and women’s rights in the context of Enlightenment discourse about individual liberty. It will be of equal interest to those interested in understanding how a transatlantic writer fashioned a Columbus myth suited to the particular cultural needs of an early American republic in search of a national identity." Rare: RBH records only two copies at auction in the past 75 years. BAL 17003; Evans 34490; Wright 2254; Sabin 73613.

12mo, two volumes in one (179 x 100mm). Contemporary sheep, red spine label (rebacked, front hinge starting); modern box.