Dangers of Coquetry is Amelia Opie's first published novel, and deals with issues of female sexuality and the social construction of gender.
[1] Although the novel cautions readers about the dangers of flirting, Opie also depicted Louisa as a flawed yet ultimately sympathetic figure.
[2] One contemporary reviewer was far more critical of Henry's behaviour than hers, writing that: 'while it [the novel] attributes the most mischievous and dreadful consequences to a little innocent coquetry in the character of a wife, it shews them to have proceeded from an idle, ridiculous, and unfounded jealousy on the part of her husband.
[3] Teresa Pershing suggests that although Opie portrays Louisa as an example of failed femininity, she also shows that society's narrow notions of acceptable female behaviour are flawed.
[4] The novel uses some standard tropes found in 'coquette narratives' written at the time (particularly in that the coquette dies tragically), but is also unusual in that Louisa is married.