 "Original Stories" was first published anonymously in 1788, the same year as Wollstonecraft's first novel "", and cost two shillings.When the second edition came out in 1791, Wollstonecraft's name was printed on the title page; after the publication in 1790 of her "Vindication of the Rights of Men", she had become well known and her name would have boosted sales.Joseph Johnson, the publisher of "Original Stories" and all of Wollstonecraft's other works, commissioned William Blake to design six illustrations for the second edition, which cost two shillings and six pence.