Early habits; or, the effects of Attention and Neglect: exemplified in the history of master thomas towardley, and laurence lacey, alias lazy SULLIVAN, W[illiam] F[rancis]

[2], 127pp, [3]. With a hand-coloured engraved frontispiece, one further hand-coloured engraved plate, and a terminal leaf of publisher's advertisements. Original publisher's green roan-backed marbled paper boards, ruled and lettered in gilt. A trifle rubbed. Scattered spotting. The first edition, in original state, of Irish author William Francis Sullivan's (1756-1830) cautionary tale of juvenile sloth and idleness; a contrasting narrative of two young boys, Master Thomas Towardley and Laurence Lacey, demonstrating the polarity in the behaviour of each in response to attention paid to the former and neglect suffered by the latter. The Dublin-born author, son of Jurist Francis Stoughton Sullivan (1715-1766), read at Trinity College. Intended for the church, he enlisted in the Royal Navy and served throughout the American War of Independence. In 1783 he settled in England and took up teaching; his experiences in education informing the narrative of his evangelical novel The History of Mr. Rightway and His Pupils, first published by Darton in 1816. Size: 12mo