London, Trubner & Co., 1889. First edition, first impression. Hardback. A very good copy. An important feminist novel, and arguably an important gothic work in its own right. Mona Caird is best known for her essay 'Marriage' published in 1888 in the Westminster Review wherein Caird postulated that marriage as it was then was a failure. This resulted in 27,000 responses, which only diminished when Jack the Ripper stole the headlines. Following this essay Caird published The Wing of Azrael to further illustrate her point. The novel examines consent in marriage and domestic abuse. [Surridge, Oxford Bibliographies]. "Caird's 1889 novel, The Wing of Azrael, explores the ideology of middle-class Victorian marriage and motherhood. The writer sets out to express her radical feminist beliefs employing the tools of traditional "feminine" narrative. Her revolutionary politics and incendiary subject matter go hand in hand with the standards of a feminised popular genre - in this case, the Gothic novel." [Zabicka, Victorian Review, 31.1 (2005)]. Possibly a family copy of the book, curiously inscribed by 'James A. Caird'. James was Mona's husband. In 1897 he adopted the surname Henryson-Caird, so one would assume the inscription in this copy predates 1897, and was perhaps just there to declare ownership. Complete in three volumes. Some markings to the cloth, toning to the spines, and bumping to the tips. slight reading lean. An important work that deserves further academic investigation. [11479, Hyraxia Books].