The full name under which the "Essay" was first published is "An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex, In Which are Inserted the Characters of a Pendant, a Squire, a Beau, a Vertuoso, a Poetaster, a City-Critick, &C.", in a letter to a lady. Published in London by Roper and E Wilkinson in 1696, the author was listed only as "a Lady." For many years, the work was attributed to Mary Astell, a contemporary of Drake and author of "A Serious Proposal to the Ladies" and other works. However, authorship is now decidedly attributed to Drake. Her name is listed in a Curll catalogue issued after 1741 as the author, and the second edition of the Essay included a poem dedicated to the author by James Drake.