8vo (210 x 127 mm). (Marginal repairs to title page, s1 and s4 not affecting text, some very light spotting throughout.) Contemporary boards and four-corners (spine rebacked to style, light rubbing to covers).

"INDEPENDENCE I HAVE LONG CONSIDERED AS THE GRAND BLESSING OF LIFE, THE BASIS OF EVERY VIRTUE" (dedication)

FIRST EDITION with advertisement leaf (b6). Vindication of the Rights of Woman serves as a spiritual sequel to Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Men, written in response to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). A key argument carried over across both works is that rights should be conferred because they are moral, and not due to the generosity of the state; she further argues that if natural rights are given by God, then to deny them to any person regardless of gender is a sin. The book was an immediate success, though its reputation was somewhat tattered by the publication of her husband William Godwin's memoir, published after her death. In the late 20th century the book was reappraised and has become a foundational text in modern feminist philosophy. PMM 242; Windle A5a.