The Parent's Assistant
The Parent's Assistant is the first collection of children's stories by Maria Edgeworth, published by Joseph Johnson in 1796. Contents. The first edition (Part I) had five stories: "Lazy Lawrence", "Tarlton", "The Little Dog Trusty," "The Orange Man" and "The False Key". "Barring Out" was included in the second edition of Part I published the same year. In later editions more material was added, most notably, "The Purple Jar", and a play for children, "Old Poz". The 1865 American edition contained the following stories: "Lazy Lawrence", "Tarlton", "The False Key", "The Birthday Present", "Simple  Susan", "The Bracelets", "The Little Merchants", "Old Poz", "The Mimic", "Mademoiselle Panache", "The Basket Woman", "The White Pigeon", "The Orphans", "Waste Not, Want Not", "Forgive and Forget", "The Barring Out, or Party Spirit", and "Eton Montem". Influence. Queen Victoria was reading "The Parent's Assistant" in 1837, just three months before her coronation. She recalls reading "The Birthday Present" in "Miss Edgeworth's inimitable and delightful "Parent's Assistant"" while doing her hair. The collection is also mentioned in William Thackeray's novel "Vanity Fair".