Jane Collier  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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Jane Collier's An Essay on the Art of Ingeniously Tormenting (1753), a conduct book, was her first work. The Essay operates as a satirical advice book on how to nag and it was modeled after Jonathan Swift's satirical essays. The work is intended to "teach" a reader the various methods for "teasing and mortifying" one's acquaintances. It is divided into two sections that are organized for "advice" to specific groups, and it is followed by "General Rules" for all people to follow.

Although the work was written by Jane Collier, there are speculations as to who may have helped contribute to the content and style of the work, ranging from friends to fellow writers including Sarah Fielding, Samuel Richardson, and James Harris. There was only one edition printed during Collier's life, but there were many subsequent revisions and republications of the work after.