A Note on the Text

This edition of The Female Quixote reprints the second edition of the novel (‘Revised and Corrected’), which appeared in London in two volumes duodecimo. The copy used for the setting-copy here is in the Library of Congress, Washington, DC (PR3541 L27A66 1752).

The second edition corrected many of the printing errors that occurred in the first edition, but it also introduced new ones. The revisions also included substantive alterations, altered phrases and words, as well as changes in grammar, spelling, punctuation and typography. Among the substantive changes are expansions of the critique of the romance genre, additional descriptive details of places and scenes and some elucidation of obscure language. These alterations can confidently be attributed to the author.

Until the middle of the eighteenth century, there was still considerable variation in English spelling (and grammar). The publication in 1755 of Samuel Johnson’s influential Dictionary of the English Language was the first major contribution to the standardization of English spelling. Predating Johnson’s Dictionary, The Female Quixote (1752) reflects the relative instability of English spelling. It has been the aim of the editors to present Lennox’s text in a format which is accessible to a modern audience, but which at the same time respects and retains the distinctive linguistic flavour and appearance of the novel as it was originally published.

Following the principle of minimal editorial interference, emendation is light. Thus, the editors have changed as little as possible of the text’s original spelling, punctuation, accentuation or capitalization, even where these are inconsistent or idiosyncratic (as, for instance, in the case of foreign words and names). Among the inconsistencies that have been retained are these:

acknowlege/acknowledge (Acknowlegement/Acknowledgement, unacknowleging/unacknowledging, Knowlege/knowledge); confidant/confident; heroic/heroick; remembred/remembered; Style/ Stile; Surprise/Surprize; to-Night/to Night/Tonight.

Among the eighteenth-century spellings (consistently used in these forms) that have been retained are the following (the modern spelling is given in brackets):

antient (ancient); Antients (Ancients); atchiev’d (achieved); chose (choose); Cloaths (clothes); couragiously (courageously); dazling (dazzling); encrease (increase); Falshood (falsehood); fansied (fancied); forborn (forborne); Gawse (gauze); Head-ach (headache); inconsoleable (inconsolable); meer (mere); threatned (threatened).

Obvious typographical errors, inconsistencies, as well as any spelling, punctuation or other usage that would otherwise obscure the meaning of the text, have been silently emended (where possible and appropriate against the first edition of the novel). Thus, the editors have corrected the misleading ‘swiming’ to ‘swimming’ and the inconsistent ‘Harvey’ to ‘Hervey’. The present text follows current usage for quotations (using a single set of opening and closing quotation marks), and the eighteenth-century long s has been replaced by the modern s. Dashes have been made regular using em and 2-em rules.

Unfamiliar word usage, literary allusion and historical and biographical references are explained in the Notes, which also identify quotations and supply relevant information concerning sources, archaisms and foreign words. Full names and dates of persons appearing in Notes are given for the first citation only. The Notes are numbered per Book.