oxford world’s classics AN ESSAY ON THE ART OF INGENIOUSLY TORMENTING Jane Collier was baptized in January 1715 at Steeple Langford in Wiltshire, one of four children of the philosopher and clergyman, the Reverend Arthur Collier. Her family moved to lodgings in Salisbury in 1716 when they encountered financial difficulties, and it was here that Collier grew up and was educated. Jane, along with her sister Margaret, learned Latin and Greek from her father, who died in 1732. Collier moved to London in the 1740s, where she met and became a trusted friend of some of the most prominent writers of her time, including Samuel Richardson and Henry and Sarah Fielding. Her first published work was An Essay on the Art of Ingeniously Tormenting (1753). She later collaborated with Sarah Fielding on her only other surviving work, The Cry (1754). Collier never married, and she died in London in 1755. Katharine A. Craik completed her doctoral research at King’s College Cambridge and is a Lecturer and Junior Research Fellow at Worcester College Oxford. She has published on Shakespeare, Spenser, Jonson, and their contemporaries and is writing a book entitledWriting, Sensation, and the Origins of Pornography in Early Modern England. oxford world’s classics For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics have brought readers closer to the world’s great literature. Now with over 700 titles—from the 4,000-year-old myths of Mesopotamia to the twentieth century’s greatest novels—the series makes available lesser-known as well as celebrated writing. The pocket-sized hardbacks of the early years contained introductions by Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, and other literary figures which enriched the experience of reading. Today the series is recognized for its fine scholarship and reliability in texts that span world literature, drama and poetry, religion, philosophy and politics. Each edition includes perceptive commentary and essential background information to meet the changing needs of readers. OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS JANE COLLIER An Essay on the Art of Ingeniously Tormenting Edited with an Introduction and Notes by KATHARINE A. CRAIK 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in OxfordNew York AucklandCape TownDar es SalaamHong KongKarachi Kuala LumpurMadridMelbourneMexico CityNairobi New DelhiShanghaiTaipeiToronto With offices in ArgentinaAustriaBrazilChileCzech RepublicFranceGreece GuatemalaHungaryItalyJapanPolandPortugalSingapore South KoreaSwitzerlandThailandTurkeyUkraineVietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Katharine A. Craik 2006 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published as an Oxford World’s Classics paperback 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Collier, Jane, 1715?–1755. An essay on the art of ingeniously tormenting / Jane Collier ; edited with an introduction and notes by Katharine A. Craik. p. cm. — (Oxford world’s classics) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Women—Conduct of life—Humor—Early works to 1800. 2. Interpersonal relations—Humor— Early works to 1800. 3. Conduct of life—Humor—Early works to 1800. I. Craik, Katharine A. II. Title. III. Oxford world’s classics (Oxford University Press) PN6231.W6C65 2006 824′.6—dc22 2005030186 Typeset in Ehrhardt by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St. Ives plc. ISBN 0–19–280552–5 978–0–19–280552–2 1 To my husband Steve, patient recipient of many an ingenious torment This page intentionally left blank ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Iwould like to thank Markman Ellis for introducing me to Jane Collier and for reading the introduction to this edition, Martin Butler for tracking down Collier’s reference to Ben Jonson, and Judith Luna at OUP for her many excellent suggestions and corrections. I am particularly grateful to Elizabeth and Alexander Craik who helped with the introduction and much more besides. This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Introduction xi Note on the Text xxxix Select Bibliography xl A Chronology of Jane Collier xliv AN ESSAY ON THE ART OF INGENIOUSLY TORMENTING Advertisement to the Reader 3 an essay on the art of tormenting 5 Part the First 13 i. Instructions to Masters and Mistresses, concerning their Servants 14 ii. To the Patronesses of an Humble Companion 21 iii. To Parents 35 iv. To the Husband 43 Part the Second 47 i. To Lovers 48 ii. To the Wife 49 iii. To the Friend 60 iv. To your Good Sort of People; being an appendage to the foregoing chapter 75 General Rules for plaguing all your acquaintance; with the description of a party of pleasure 83 Conclusion of the Essay 97 A Fable 100 Explanatory Notes 101