8vo. [4], ii, 65pp, [1]. Contemporary dark green half-roan, marbled paper boards, lettered in gilt. Heavily rubbed, upper joint split, spine worn at head and foot. Armorial bookplate of George Chetwynd to FEP, blind-stamps of Grendon Hall to title page and errata leaf, scattered spotting.

The sole edition of a rare and tumultuous narrative by Richard Mence (1836-1891) of Worcester, describing a violent altercation with Mr Shapland, vicar of Worcester St Peter's, and the extenuating circumstances which led to such an assault. Mence, who states in the preface that his reluctant publication of such a work had been ultimately necessitated by the continuing 'tone of menace and defiance' propagated by Mr. Shapland, devotes much of the work to his discovery of Shapland's domestic abuses, revealing publicly the allegations of domestic violence which had resulted in his wife being 'separated from him upwards of a year'.

Attached to Mence's detailed account is a deeply moving letter addressed from Mrs. Shapland to her husband 'announcing that she would leave and not return', highlighting the extent of his violent temper, her deep love for her daughter, and the complex and conflicting emotions which have influenced her decision. Mrs. Shapland's highly emotive language, emphasising intently her fear 'of awakening those outrageous passions which have already destroyed my peace', combines with Mence's account to provide a highly personal insight into the town's struggle for community justice in the face of assault and intimidation.

OCLC records copies at just three locations (Oxford, Princeton, and Sydney); COPAC adds one further (BL).