Wolverhampton BTW

The Female Spy

Published 1783
Author Tonkin, Mary
Title The Female Spy; or Mrs. Tonkin’s Account of Her Journey through France, at the Express Order of the Rt. Hon. Charles James Fox, Secretary of State.
Publisher’s imprint [London]: Printed for, and Sold by the Author. M.DCC.LXXX.III [1783]. Price Two Shillings and Six-Pence.
Format 4o; 1 vol.: pp. 31
Sources Cox, 1:154; ESTC N001499; lst Google
Copy inspected ECCO Hunt
Notes
  1. ‘Two’ in ‘Two Shillings’ on t.p. imprint struck off by hand and replaced with ‘One’.

  2. Dedicated ‘To the Queen’s most excellent Majesty’ [Charlotte (1744-1818; ODNB), queen of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, consort of George III].

  3. Editions: 1783, 1785. Var. t.p. for 1783: Facts. The Female Spy; or Mrs. Tonkin’s Account of Her Journey through France, in the War, at the Hazard of Her Life, at the Express Order of the Rt. Hon. Charles James Fox, Secretary of State; for Which She Has Been Refused Any Indemnity or Compensation. Printed for, and Sold by the Author, at Mr. Vaughan, No. 8, Princes-Street, Leicester-Fields; and M. Davis, Sackville-Street, Piccadilly; M.DCC.LXXX.III. Price One Shilling and Six-Pence. [ECCO BL; ESTC T107507].

  4. Reviews: English Rev. 2 (Aug. 1783): 141-42; Edinburgh Weekly Mag. 57 (25 Sept. 1783): 412-413; Critical Rev. 64 (Nov. 1787): 399-400.

  5. As Turner remarks, the work has 'a rather tenuous relationship' to the travel writing genre (127n2). Tonkin reports on the movements of ships and troop levels in various French ports, but the narrative is largely a justification for the remuneration denied her by the British government, as well as a diatribe against those in power who have wronged her.

  6. Full text links: Google 1783 var.

Genre Narrative
BTW record no. BTW1183
Region France

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