Letters of William Godwin

Volume 1
1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-0-19-956261-9
Verlag: Oxford University Press(UK)

Buch, Englisch, 368 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 722 g

Publishes for the first time all the letters of this significant social thinker, novelist, and philosopher of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
Covers the first major phase of Godwin's life and career, from his education in English religious nonconformity through his early years as a writer struggling for recognition, to his years of fame in the era of the French Revolution
Sheds light on many literary, political, and artistic figures of the times - Mary Hays, Elizabeth Inchbald, Thomas Lawrence, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Mary Wollstonecraft - and provides insight into the publishing circles and radical social networks of the period

William Godwin became a leading public intellectual during the crisis in British politics which followed the French Revolution. The impact of his social theories was acknowledged by almost every significant literary figure in Britain for the next quarter-century, and his influence endured much longer in Europe. He married Mary Wollstonecraft, the early advocate of women's rights, and was the father of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. All of his letters are published for the first time in this edition. The first volume (1778-1797) includes scores of texts newly transcribed from the original manuscripts and given scholarly annotation for the first time. The letters trace the development of Godwin's personality from his background in English religious nonconformity, through his early struggle for recognition as a gifted writer, to his years of fame in the 1790s. They illuminate his most celebrated works, An Enquiry concerning Political Justice (1793) and the novel Caleb Williams (1794); his intervention in the treason trials of 1794; and his relations with publishers. They reveal his intellectual and emotional mentorship of a succession of creative men and women. They chart his education in a 'new language' of feeling through his courtship of Mary Wollstonecraft, and bear witness to the shock of her early death. Godwin's letters reflect the cultural history of his times, and throw light on many other literary, political, and artistic figures. These letters record the personal and professional interactions of an original thinker who had a lasting influence on progressive movements in Britain and Europe, and is still widely read today.

Zielgruppe

Students and scholars of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English literature, and historians of British culture and of the book.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Clemit, Pamela

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Westliche Philosophie: 19. Jahrhundert
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Westliche Philosophie: 18. Jahrhundert

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Dedication
Acknowledgements
List of Letters
List of Illustrations
Abbreviations and Symbols
Introduction
A Note on Editorial Principles
Chronology: William Godwin, 1756-1797
Letters, 1778-1797 (Numbers 1-186)
Appendix 1: Undated Letters
Appendix 2: Articles of Agreement for Political Justice
Appendix 3: Letters in the Abinger papers: Old and New Shelfmarks

Über Autor(innen)

Clemit, Pamela
Edited by Pamela Clemit, Professor of English Studies, Durham University