Riding for Ladies. The Common Sense of Riding. With hints on the stable. Illustrated by A[lfred] Chantrey Corbould.

Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1887. First American edition. A London edition was published in the same year. The present edition is uncommon with only eight copies on OCLC (seven in the Northeast and one in Ohio). . Publisher's olive-green pictorial cloth with gilt lettering and decoration on upper board and spine. Some rubbing to extremities and spine. Black coated endpapers. Ownership signature of Alice Jones Willock (1867 – 1939) and armorial bookplate of her son Franklin Jones Willock (1891 – 1952), members of a family of skilled American steeplechase riders and hunters. With frontispiece of the author, 13 plates, and 55 illustrations (most half-page). Pages 346 to 378 are richly illustrated ads for equestrian gear like saddles, boots, habits, and hats; books on hunting and the care of horses; and books on the food, culture, and wildlife of India. Binding a bit loose but sound, a couple leaves coming loose at beginning of book. Some marginal toning. A very good, bright copy. Nannie Lambert Power O'Donoghue (1843 – 1940) was an Irish journalist, novelist, poet, and the first person to ride Ireland's three most formidable steeplechase courses without a refusal or a mistake. As one of the most notable equestrians of her day, O'Donoghue observed the subpar skills of other woman equestrians and wrote the present work as an "exhaustive" guide "covering dress, tackle, mounting, seat, and all aspects of riding and care for horses," (Hourican). She also included stories of her own riding career and adventures in the Meath and Kildare foxhunting clubs. O'Donoghue's journalism career included writing for the Irish Times, the Lady's Pictorial, and other periodicals, as well as editing the Irish Society. Her novels included The Knave of Clubs (1868); Unfairly Won (1882); and A Beggar on Horseback (1884), her best and most successful novel.