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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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Four Early Pamphlets is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by William Godwin is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of William Godwin then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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The letters of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin mirror the relationship of a remarkable literary couple. The correspondence collected here covers the period from July 13, 1796, to August 30, 1797, when 'their friendship turned to romance, their romance to passion, their passion to consummation, their affair to a highly unconventional marriage during which they lived far enough apart to permit the continuing exchange of letters. Wardle, a superb editor, provides just enough annotation to allow the relationship to unfold by itself through the correspondence of these two doctrinaire rationalists, who both came late to love...[Godwin & Mary] is the easiest, certainly the most delightful introduction to the life and prose of Mary Wollstonecraft' - Ellen Moers, "New York Review of Books".'Taken together, these letters help us to trace out the personal and domestic relations of Mary and Godwin at first hand, and they also throw a good deal of light on the contrasting characters of the pair. Professor Wardle's annotations are most helpful; always brief and concise, but never superfluous' - "English Studies". Ralph M.Wardle is the author of "Oliver Goldsmith" (1957), "Mary Wollstonecraft: A Critical Biography" (1951) and "Halzlitt" (1971). ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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The races at Southampton havefor time immemorialconstituted a scene of rivalshipwarand envy. All the passions incident to the human frame have here assumed as true a scopeas in the more noisy and more tragical contentions of statesmen and warriors. (Excerpt) ... Read more

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LIVES THAT NEVER GROW OLDThis unique series -- edited by Richard Holmes -- recovers the great classical tradition of English biography. Every book is a biographical masterpiece -- still thrilling to read and vividly alive.The philosopher William Godwin fell in love with and married the radical feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, only to attend her deathbed (giving birth to their child, the late Mary Shelley). Heartbroken, Godwin immediately shut himself up in his study and wrote this intensely moving biography.True to his philosophical belief in absolute sincerity, Godwin coolly describes Wollstonecraft's previous love affairs, her time in revolutionary Paris, her illegitimate child, and her two suicide attempts. The book almost wrecked both their reputations, but can now be seen as a masterpiece of indiscretion and human honesty. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

'He does not love ......
.... who can resign this cherised sentiment (that it is of the very essence of affection, to seek to perpetuate itself), without suffering some of the sharpest struggles that our nature is capable of enduring.'

William Godwin, author of "The Enquiry Concerning Political Justice" - perhaps the seminal work of anarchist philosophy -wrote the "Memoirs of the Author of 'The Rights of Women'" to manage the sharpest of struggles that he had to endure when his partner - Mary Wollstonecraft died after bearing their one child - a girl who was also called Mary. She was, of course, to become the famous Mary Shelley - author of "Frankenstein", and much else worthy of reading.

Bearing in mind that this memoir was written by a man still suffering the depths of anguish and grief, it is perhaps understandable that Godwin's judgement was impaired when he wrote in the memoir of things not really acceptable for his era. But then, the man was an anarchist - a believer in the sacredness of every individual to behave as they saw fit - not as constrained by laws or social morals and etiquette.

Today we are less sensitive to the human things Godwin reveals of Wollstonecraft - we are less likely to hide things we are taught to be 'ashamed of' - even if they are natural things. Sadly, Godwin's memoir did have a damaging impact on Wollstonecraft's reputation after her death (although it's my guess many men might have been looking for any excuse to denigrate someone championing women's liberation at that time). It's perhaps true that Godwin's own reputation was damaged (although there were probably plenty at the time who were happy to denigrate an anarchist too!).

There are some great sentiments expressed in this memoir, such as my quote in the heading, but I did see Godwin as a little colder than I might have liked. For example, in the grief of Wollstonecraft's death he does not reflect on his daughter and the potential she carried. Perhaps that might in part explain how damaged Shelley was by her mother's death - believing that in some way it was her fault.

Other recommendations:

William Godwin - Enquiry Concerning Political Justice
William Godwin - Caleb Williams
Mary Shelley/Mary Wollstonecraft - Mary/Maria/Matilda
Mary Shelley - Transformation
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
Percy Shelley - Zastrozzi
George Eliot - Adam Bede


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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Contains all the major political, philosophical and educational writings of William Godwin, one of the foremost philosophers of his age. His work on government and individual freedom, "Political Justice", made him the chief exponent of English radicalism, and a major influence on Thomas Holcroft, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and others in the radical movement of the 1790s and later. Godwin was an influential historian and educationalist. His works include historical pamphlets, polemical journalism, philosophical and educational treatises, novels and literary works. "Political Justice" is printed in its original edition, with variants to the manuscript and first three editions. It also includes manuscript material never before published. ... Read more

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THIS 38 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great: Lovers, by Elbert Hubbard. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766104001. ... Read more

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Best known for "Enquiry Concerning Political Justice" (1793) and "Caleb Williams" (1794), William Godwin (1756-1836) is one of the most important figures of the Romantic period. Godwin was an avid theatre-goer, making as many as 70 theatre trips in a season. He wrote four plays; "Antonio or, The Soldier's Return" (1800) and "Faulkener, A Tragedy" (1807) were published in his lifetime, whilst "St Dunstan" (1790) and "Abbas, King of Persia" (1801) exist only in manuscript.The plays cover a substantial period of Godwin's career and bracket his period of greatest fame and creativity. Until now, the plays have not been available in a modern scholarly format. Consequentially, they have not received as much critical attention as his novels and political writings. This modern critical edition is edited to the highest standards and offers academics the chance to build a more complete picture of Godwin as a writer and political figure. It will be essential for those studying Literature, Romanticism and History of the Theatre. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Life and literature were inseparable in the daily lives of Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin, and Mary Shelley. In England's First Family of Writers, Julie A. Carlson demonstrates how and why the works of these individuals can best be understood within the context of the family unit in which they were created.

The first to consider their writing collectively, Carlson finds in the Wollstonecraft-Godwin-Shelley dynasty a family of writers whose works are in intimate dialogue with each other. For them, literature made love and produced children, as well as mourned, memorialized, and reanimated the dead.

Construing the ways in which this family's works minimize the differences between books and persons, writing and living, Carlson offers a nonsentimental account of the extent to which books can live and inform life and death. Carlson also examines the unorthodox clan's status as England's first family of writers. She explores how, over time, their reception has evinced ongoing public resistance to those who critique family values.