When it appeared in spring 1811, Mary Brunton’s first novel, Self-Control, was an overnight best-seller that surpassed both its author’s modest expectations and its origins as a lady’s genteel pastime. Self-Control combines complex psychological portraiture, religious didacticism and social comedy with a sensitive eye for regional description. While a religious novel, it blends both exciting incident and dramatic characterization with a sophisticated analysis of contemporary gender politics. Going into four editions within one year, the unexpected success of Self-Control can be seen in its popularity both in Edinburgh and London, with contemporaries like Jane Austen part of an eager readership clamouring to number themselves among its readers. Brunton’s novel was such a success that an unauthorized edition was produced in America and it was also translated into French.

This is the first scholarly edition of the novel and includes textual variants.