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Trusler, John, 1735-1820. Memoirs, part 2, circa 1810.

Title: Memoirs, part 2, circa 1810.

Manuscript, in a single hand, of the second part of Trusler's diary. The author begins by considering the art of memoir-writing and reflecting on the public reception of the first part of his Memoirs; the rest of the volume covers a wide variety of professional, personal, social, philosophical, and anecdotal subjects. In addition to his own successes as a preacher and author and analyses of the status of these professions, he discusses issues of real estate and financial planning; warns his readers against entering into debt; explains the financial relationship between the bookselling trade and writers; and complains about the evils of the printing trade and of low-priced books. Elsewhere, he discusses his ideas about education; whether thieves possess honor; the disgraceful state of medical practice; and criticizes prevailing fashions of women's dress, comparing them unfavorably to the modesty of Quakers. He also mentions current events and a wide variety of notable personages, including the arrival in 1762 of three Cherokee chiefs to England, where they were displayed in a "raised Covered Theatre" and exhibited, with their wives, to the public, reflecting on their appearance and moral beliefs of the "savages." Other names he mentions include Henry Fielding, Benjamin Franklin, Christopher Columbus, William Hogarth, Horace Walpole, and Robert Walpole. The volume also contains personal anecdotes of his two wives and children and the experience of his second wife in childbed. The manuscript is accompanied by a typed transcription.

ArchivalResource: 1 v. (425 p.) ; 22 cm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/702184362 View