There are several amendments to the text of Nature and Art by the time the 1810 edition of the novel is printed.  The first amendment addresses what is said to be an inadequate ending.  The original ending suggests that all people of power, physicians, lawyers, soldiers, and statesmen are corrupt.  It gives no hope for social reform.  In the second edition of the book, 1797, Inchbald revises the ending, but only changes the view slightly. (I will insert the old & new ending for comparison.)  It states that the poor could attain happiness by simply despising the wealthy and suggests the wealthy should honor their duty towards the poor.  Unfortunately, this ending does not connect with the main characters actions or beliefs at the beginning of the novel.  The brothers did not revere the wealthy and the wealthy never demonstrated any intention of altering their ways.  Inchbald was aware of the need for reform, but did not want to suggest revolution to her readers.

            The second amendment involves a name change to the main female character, from Hannah to Agnes.  This new name refers to St. Agnes, a virgin martyr of the Catholic Church.  Inchbald’s correlation of the two implies Hannah is a good/pure woman.  Both of their deaths are seen as a release from their equally treacherous lives.  These changes cause the reader to view Inchbald as a philosophical writer.

Inchbald also made detailed changes in response to readers’ and reviewers’ comments.  These changes, along with revisions to standard grammatical and literary usage, were made between 1794 and 1796.  The style of the novel was improved by transpositions of words and phrases.  Inchbald used her skill as a playwright to heighten dramatic effect in the novel.  This is evident in her changes to dialogue from indirect discourse to direct discourse.  It is reminiscent of stage directions. 

            The main area of interest to the changes in the text is “Authorial Intention.”  There was a real concern among many writers of the time about how the press corrector could possibly change the text without the author’s knowledge. (Taylor)