Bibliographer: Gabriella Ekens

Friendship in a Nunnery; or, The American Fugitive

I reimagine the novel by creating modern book designs for four different genres: classic literature, young adult literature, modern adult literature, and pulp genre fiction. I show how the creation of a book’s physical form is itself an interpretative act and show how genre frames offer radically different readings.

Traditional Description

Friendship in a nunnery; or, The American fugitive. Containing a full description of the mode of education and living in convent schools, both on the low and high pension. The manners and characters of nuns; the arts practised on young minds; and their baneful effects on society at large. By a lady. In two volumes. (Phebe Gibbes, 1778)

 Source: Lady. Friendship in a nunnery; or, The American fugitive. Containing a full description of the mode of education and living in convent schools, both on the low and high pension. The manners and characters of the nuns; the arts practised on young minds; and their baneful effects on society at large. By a lady. In two volumes. Vol. Volume 1. London,  MDCCLXXVIII. [1778]. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale. Swarthmore College Lib TRICO(PALCI). 12 Nov. 2014 

<http://find.galegroup.com/ecco/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=swar94187&tabID=T001&docId=CB3328271550&type=multipage&contentSet=ECCOArticles&version=1.0&docLevel=FASCIMILE>.

 Friendship in a Nunnery | OR, THE | AMERICAN FUGITIVE | CONTAINING | A full Description of the Mode of Education Living in CONVENT SCHOOLS, both on the low and high Pension | THE MANNERS AND CHARACTERS OF THE NUNS; | The ARTS practiced on YOUNG MINDS; | And their BANEFUL EFFECTS on Society at large. | By a LADY. | Those who to Convents fly, will sadly find, | That danger, vice, and woe of every kind, | Are surely met with there, not left behind. | IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. | LONDON, | Printed for J. BEW, in Pater-Nofter-Row, | MDCCLXXVIII.

Pagination: pages are numbered on the outside corner starting from the page after the half-title (A3r)

Format: duodecimo

Contents: A1r blank, A2v title, A2r blank, A2v-M11r text

Notes: 263 pages, physical description 2v. ; 12°, from the British Library, accessed through the Eighteenth Century Collections Database

There was an issue with how this novel was catalogued – the 1778 and first volume of the 1784 editions have their module subject listed as “social sciences,” while the second volume of the 1784 is listed as “religion and philosophy.” For some reason, the first 1784 comes up under a “literature and language search,” the second 1784 volume under “religion and philosophy,” all of the 1778 edition under “social science.”

The handwritten signature “William Thompson” is present beneath the type friendship in a nunnery and surrounds or, the in this manner: Friendship in a Nunnery; | William OR, THE Thompson.

Experimental Description