THE SELECTED WORKS OF DELARIVIER MANLEY. Volume I: Letters Written by Mrs. Manley (1696); The Secret History, of Queen Zarah (1705); The Unknown Lady's Pacquet of Letters (1708). Volume II: The New Atalantis (1709). Volume III: Memoirs of Europe (1710-11). Volume IV: The Adventures of Rivella (1714); The Power of Love (1720). Volume V: The Examiner; Pamphlets; Plays.

First edition, first printing. Complete in five volumes. Hardcover. Publisher's original red cloth with gilt titles on a black label to the spine. An excellent fine set, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout, and without inscriptions or stamps.

Mrs (Mary?) Delarivier or Delarivière Manley (1663-1724) was an accomplished pamphleteer, political satirist and playwright, recognised as a member of 'the fair triumvirate of wit', referring to the three most influential women writers of the 17th and 18th centuries (with Eliza Haywood and Aphra Behn). Her sharp, politically attuned writings frequently targeted high-profile Whig and Tory politicians such as John and Sarah Churchill, 1st Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, which can be seen in the play 'The Secret History, of Queen Zarah' (1705), which popularised the term 'Zararians' as a nickname for the Whigs. Manley was briefly arrested, though ultimately discharged, for her notorious roman à clef the 'New Atalantis' (1709), which salaciously exposed the private lives of many powerful upper class members of English society. Her literary talent was again weaponised as a political journalist from 1711-13, on the encouragement of Jonathan Swift, from whom she took over the editorship of the Examiner in 1711. Yet despite her success and popularity, Manley remains widely overlooked in modern scholarship. This comprehensive collection therefore seeks to provide this trailblazing author with the scholarly attention and respect she is long overdue.