Formerly attributed to James Annesley by Halkett and Laing and also by the British Library.

Now conclusively attributed to Eliza Fowler Haywood by the records of the publisher Francis Cogan, in which two works "Anti-Pamela" and "Memoirs of an unfortunate young nobleman" appeared as "By Mrs. Haywood.". See "The Basis for attribution in the canon of Eliza Haywood" by Leah Orr in The library, volume 12, issue 4, December 2011, pages 335-375.

In Haywood's novel the "unfortunate nobleman" is James Annesley and the "cruel uncle" is Richard Annesley, the sixth Earl of Anglesey. This work was very popular in England and Ireland and went through several printings.

James Annesley was a claimant to the title of Earl of Anglesey and the Barony of Altham. He was born into a wealthy Anglo-Irish family, the son of Atrthur Annesley and Mary Sheffield, the baron and baroness of Altham. Following a move to Dublin, Mary was expelled from the house, apparently due to infidelity, and James, rejected by his father, was left homeless and adrift in Dublin. When he was about 12 years old, after the death of his father, he was kidnapped and sent to a plantation in Delaware as an indentured servant on the orders of his uncle Richard. Henceforth, Richard was able to claim the title and lands of Anglesey. In 1740, after working as a dozen years in indentured servitude, James escaped from the plantation and made his way to Philadelphia where he boarded a merchant ship to Port Royal, Jamaica, and signed on with the Royal Navy. In 1741, James returned to England and then to Scotland where he accidentally killed a man during a hunting excursion. His uncle Richard used that death to try to have James hanged for murder, but was unsuccessful due to last-minute testimony that the event was an accident. Richard failed to pay his attorney in that attempted successful prosecution, and that failure led to testimony in the following case in which major precedents were set regarding modern attorney/client privilege. Eventually, James returned to Ireland where he laid claim to his birthright by means of the famous case of Annesley v Anglesea, with the help of the Scottish barrister Daniel Mackercher. The final verdict went in James's favor and his estates were returned to him, but he did not obtain his titles before he died at the age of 44. His uncle Richard died about a year later.

A first part was printed in London, 1743 under title: Memoirs of an unfortunate young nobleman, return'd from a thirteen years slavery in America, where he had been sent by the wicked contrivances of his cruel uncle.

A third part was printed in London, 1747 under title: Memoirs of an unfortunate young nobleman, return'd from a thirteen years slavery in America: where he had been sent by the wicked contrivances of his cruel uncle. A story founded on truth, and address'd equally to the head and heart.

There are several issues and resettings of this first part printed for J. Freeman. In this issue the catchword on page 5 is "morning".

Signatures: [A]² ([A]1, [A]2 versos blank) B-M¹² N¹⁰.

Errors in paging: page 233 misnumbered 323.

Engraved printer's ornament on title page; head and tail pieces; initial.

Halkett, S. Dictionary of anonymous and pseudonymous English literature (1926-62 edition), VI:395

Sabin, J. Dictionary of books relating to America from its discovery to the present time, 1600

English short title catalogue, T81623

Purchase; 1974; 75-355.