ELIZABETH CRAVEN AND HER WORLD

A Pleasant Pastime for A Christmas Evening, or, the Predictions of Cosmopolitus Occultarius Philanthropos Foresight,  is the title of a rare book in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, in Paris. It is a small volume bound in leather beautifully tooled with gold leaf and it is unique in the world. No other copy has survived of this book, written by Elizabeth Craven in 1795 as a Christmas gift for her favourite son, Keppel.  We could have guessed the authorship from the fact that it says it is "Dedicated, without permission, to the Hon. Richard Keppel Craven" - very typical of Elizabeth Craven's whimsical sense of humour. In case we were in any doubt, somebody, possibly Keppel himself, has inscribed on it in best copperplate script "By HSH the Margravine of Anspach". The book is a parody of the sort of superstitious, astrological fortune-telling books that were then sold widely, particularly at Christmas when people were curious to hear predicti