Published anonymously, this brief novel was Opie’s first attempt at prose fiction. Ten years later, following the success of The Father and Daughter, she reflected on her continued fondness for the tale in a letter to Mrs. Taylor: “I am glad on reperusing ‘The Dangers of Coquetry,’ that you think so highly of it. I read it at Seething soon after I married, and felt a great respect for it; and if I ever write a collection of tales, I shall correct and republish that, as I originally wrote it, not as it now is, in the shape of a novel with chapters. I believe I told you that Mr. Hoare was so struck with it, as to intend writing a play from it” (Brightwell 85).
Editions
Dangers of Coquetry. 2 vols. London: W. Lane, 1790.
Reviews
The European Magazine, and London Review, vol. 17, May 1790, p. 352.
The Critical Review, vol. 70, Sept. 1790, p. 339.
The English Review, vol. 17, March 1791, p. 234.
Modern Editions
The Father and Daughter with Dangers of Coquetry. edited by Shelley King and John B. Pierce.
Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2003.
The Amelia Alderson Opie Archive 