To the Women of England.
[Saville, Mrs.]. “To the Women of England. Some Remarks on the Public Worship Act 1874, and the Way Women are Treated in Church and State, followed by a Few Remarks from a Woman's Point of View on the Revision of the Prayer Book.” (Manchester: A. Ireland & Co., Printers), 1882. First edition. 8vo, stitched pamphlet (appears to lack wrappers, as some traces of paper and glue are present on the spine), 15 pages. One satirical illustration. Title page somewhat dust-soiled and darkened; a little worn; a very good copy.
A rare radical attack on the established church and state, and arguing for women's equality (with implications of unity and consciousness-raising): "That woman has not enjoyed due protection in the laws, nor been accorded the full measure of her just rights, every true Christian will admit. No class-passive, resistless, apathetic, indifferent, and purposely kept ignorant-can expect otherwise; for this cause they are ready to believe every foolish theory of men's superiority, and believe it though it comes from the lips of men themselves. It never seems to occur to women to rather trust those of their own sex, who search for the truth in the interests of their fellow-sisters. ..." Saville has some choice words on the Prayer Book revisions as well, attacking such text as the marriage ceremony: "Who giveth this woman' is also an obsolete insult, as women are not bartered nor given away in these times.” Attribution of the author comes from a reference to this title in the Manchester Quarterly, vol. II (1883), in its “Manchester Bibliography for 1882," which lists this pamphlet under Mrs. Saville's name. The enigmatic Saville appears in passing in references such as Crawford (a Mrs. Saville is noted in the lists of the executive committee of the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage) or again in Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Eighty Years and More (Mrs. Saville take luncheon with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in 1883) and no doubt her full identity is buried in relevant papers somewhere. Aside from the contemporary reference in the local bibliography, this radical pamphlet seems otherwise unlocated, not being found on OCLC, Copac, or the British Library catalogue.
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