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Egerton, George [i.e. Bright, Mary Chavelita Dunne]; Beardsley, Aubrey (illus.).
Keynotes.
Publisher: Elkin Matthews and John Lane; Roberts Brothers, London; Boston;
Date of Publication: 1894
Stock Code: 15526
Second edition. Octavo, pp., [viii], 184, 14 of publisher’s advertisements, [2]. Publisher’s original sage-green buckram; titled in gilt with dark green key vignette to spine; titled within pictorial frame; keynote vignette to lower board; white end-papers. Contemporary bookseller label of T. Brear & Co., Bradford, to front paste-down. Corners slightly bumped; spine-tips softened; minor darkening to spine. Very light toning to margins; one small corner of foxing to one leaf only. A very good copy. Eight interconnected stories on female sexuality and desire, which centre bodily pleasure and carnality as a part of women’s consciousness. Keynotes was a major work of the Decadent and ‘New Woman’ movements. Its astonishing success made Bright a celebrity, and was the first in an influential series of books which skewered the myth of feminine purity. The upper cover design, ‘key’ vignette and title-page were designed by Aubrey Beardsley. £50.00