This copy was published in Boston in 1802. Three years earlier, in 1799, the first edition was issued in London at arguably the height of Hannah More’s influence as a public moralist. I hadn’t gone looking for a copy of this. But now it was here, I could no longer ignore it. The season was finally turning, and I prepared myself to read. I pulled out wool socks and a quilted blanket. I made chai, listening to Tori Amos as I ground the green cardamom pods and star anise, macerated the ginger, steeped the tea leaves. Curled up in my armchair, I opened the ragged book to the first leaves, the
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