12mo. 102, 6pp. With three terminal leaves of publisher's advertisements. Contemporary tree sheep, later neatly rebacked. Rubbed. Scattered spotting. Armorial bookplate of Sir Henry Oakes to FEP, with his inked ownership inscription to head of title page. Recent book-label of Peter Stewart Young to recto of FFEP.

'There is no living well in society without submitting to, and failing in with, the forms of it, absurd as many of them may be - but fashion is absurd in most of its modes.'

A rare survival of the revised edition, published in the year after the first, of Church of England clergyman John Trusler's (1735-1820) manual for young gentlemen on social conduct, that includes a lengthy impassioned remonstrance of the 'horrid practice' of duelling. In addition to guidance on securing the correct confident attitudes ('Every young gentleman, when arrived at manhood; if he be a gentleman by birth, by fortune, by profession of education...is fit company for a prince'), this work positively brims with practical guidance on riding, conversation, addressing correspondence, dining and other encounters of polite society. Whilst Trusler recognises the frequent absurdities of Regency fashion, his work was evidently an invaluable guide to the nuances of it.

Trusler published a wide-range of guidebooks and manuals, composed both by himself and others, most notably his compendium of dates and historical tables Chronology, or, The Historian's Vade-Mecum (1769). He is also credited with publishing the first thesaurus to the English language, entitled The Difference between Words Esteemed Synonymous (1766).

All editions are scarce, with this second being no exception; OCLC and COPAC together record copies at just three locations (BL, Cambridge, and Oxford).