William Godwin

Peter Marshall

Description

William Godwin has long been known for his literary connections as the husband of Mary Wollstonecraft, the father of Mary Shelley, the friend of Coleridge, Lamb, and Hazlitt, the mentor of the young Wordsworth, Southey, and Shelley, and the opponent of Malthus. Godwin has been recently recognized, however, as the most capable exponent of philosophical anarchism, an original moral thinker, a pioneer in socialist economics and progressive education, and a novelist of great skill.

His long life straddled two centuries. Not only did he live at the center of radical and intellectual London during the French Revolution, he also commented on some of the most significant changes in British history. Shaped by the Enlightenment, he became a key figure in English Romanticism.

Basing his work on extensive published and unpublished materials, Peter Marshall has written a comprehensive study of this flamboyant and fascinating figure. Marshall places Godwin firmly in his social, political, and historical context; he traces chronologically the origin and development of Godwin’s ideas and themes; and he offers a critical estimate of his works, recognizing the equal value of his philosophy and literature and their mutual illumination.

The picture of Godwin that emerges is one of a complex man and a subtle and revolutionary thinker, one whose influence was far greater than is usually assumed. In the final analysis, Godwin stands forth not only as a rare example of a man who excelled in both philosophy and literature but as one of the great humanists in the Western tradition.

Sujets

• Visionary
• Western tradition
• Humanist
• Commonwealth
• Political Justice

Informations

• Publié par: PM Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781629634005
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Praise for William Godwin: Philosopher, Novelist, Revolutionary
Marshall steers his course with unfailing sensitivity and skill. It is hard to see how the task could have been better done.
-Michael Foot, Observer , Book of the Year
The best biography of Godwin for more than a century Marshall tells us as much about Godwin as we are likely to want to know and also makes us want to read him.
-Nicolas Walter, Spectator
Marshall writes as an unashamed Godwinian He has written a fluent combination of biography and critical study in which the two aspects are well balanced, and, while William Godwin is unlikely to be superseded by another biography for some time, it will form an excellent starting point for further critical consideration of Godwin, that strange man so dramatically rescued from oblivion.
-George Woodcock, Our Generation
Excellent study of the life and works of William Godwin Well written and extensively researched the most comprehensive and richly detailed work yet to appear on Godwin as thinker, writer, and person . The author s scholarship is exemplary For the reader who wishes to comprehend many sides of this intriguing figure, and to understand his considerable historical significance, this work will be an invaluable source of illumination.
-John P. Clark, Criticism
Vast and richly detailed
-Colin Ward, Times Educational Supplement
A labour of love, a magnificent scholarly undertaking which must long remain the standard work on the subject.
-Gregory Clayes, Historical Journal
Admirable Marshall certainly deserves to be praised for writing a major work of scholarship on an important and fascinating man.
-H. T. Dickinson, Times Higher Educational Supplement
Peter Marshall s handsome and substantial biography [is] authoritative and up-to-date comprehensive and scholarly .
-Don Locke, Times Literary Supplement
A wholly successful attempt to trace the evolution and importance of Godwin s thought A fascinating biography amply and entertainingly told, though it always takes second place to Peter Marshall s noble aim, which is to do Godwin critical justice.
-Nigel Cross, New Statesman
Peter Marshall s biography is rich in interesting history of a good-hearted writer .
-D.A.N. Jones, London Review of Books
Fully confirms Godwin s reputation as the first and most capable exponent of anarchism, as a major figure in the development of utilitarianism, and as a pioneer in socialist economics and progressive education.
-The Scotsman
No really first-rate biography has been done before this one. The task requires an enormous command of early modern English history, extensive familiarity with the lives and works of early relevant writers and public figures of the period, peculiar narrative skill in tracing the sharp rise and fall of Godwin s star, and special perspicuity and tact in dealing with relations between what happened to Godwin, what he wrote and what he did. Marshall is able to bring all of these capacities to bear upon his complex subject.
-James K. Chandler, Modern Language Review
A glowing account by a kindly biographer
-Gertrude Himmelfarb, New Republic
A pleasure to read and a delight to see It is gracefully written with a clear command of philosophical and political controversies. It has a solid and comprehensive sense of Godwin s literary contributions and, most important of all, it is tolerant of the many twists and turns of Godwin s thought over time It is, as we say of too few books, a good read and lovely book.
-Isaac Kramnik, Albion
It brings back a thinker who was once visionary and confident, and who had the good fortune to write when utopian ideas did not seem utopian.
-David Bromwich, New York Times Review of Books
The most substantial and comprehensive study Peter Marshall s book is a major contribution to the revaluation of a vigorous, original and honest thinker.
-Thomas Balfour Elder
Godwin s reputation may now be restored with publication of this memorable biography.
-Nelson Hayes, The Patriot Ledger
An absorbing biography presenting a sympathetic portrait of a principled, embattled humanist. Peter Marshall describes these voluminous and multifaceted writings discerningly.
-M.B. Freidman, Choice
An ambitious study that offers a thorough exploration of Godwin s life and complex times
-Linda Simon, Library Journal
A major contribution to the study of Godwin and his age
-Katherine M. Morsberger, Magill s Literary Annual
The present author is to be commended for having written a full-fledged biography of Godwin . The volume, written in a sympathetic vein, is to a considerable extent based on hitherto untapped source materials. A detailed composite index is appended.
-International Review of Social History
Peter Marshall s book has very great qualities As a philosopher, he looks at his subject with a clear mind and admirably handles his material, from the literary work to the philosophical and political doctrines The impression given of the great anarchist s steady, regular and coherent course is amply served by the assured direction of Marshall s arguments. To read his book is a pleasure. He knows how to be a fine writer (his transitions and expressions are brilliantly constructed) and to be an agreeable storyteller (wielding anecdotes with tact) The book is therefore a success.
-Translated from the French of Serge Soupel, Etudes Anglaises

I. Godwin, aged 38, by Thomas Kearsley, 1794. Engraved by P. Roberts.

William Godwin: Philosopher, Novelist, Revolutionary
Peter Marshall, 2017
This edition 2017 by PM Press
ISBN: 978-1-62963-386-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016959588
Cover by John Yates/stealworks.com
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For Dylan, Emily and Jenny
CONTENTS
Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Foreword by John P. Clark
Introduction

I
Childhood
II
Norwich
III
Hoxton Academy
IV
The Ministry
V
London
VI
The French Revolution
VII
Political Justice
VIII
Political Justice Triumphant
IX
Terror was the Order of the Day
X
Political Justice Revisited
XI
The Most Odious of All Monopolies
XII
St. Godwin
XIII
Reaction
XIV
Dramatic Interludes
XV
New Beginnings
XVI
The Juvenile Library
XVII
The Shelley Circle
XVIII
The Fallen Eagle
XIX
The Commonwealth Man
XX
Final Thoughts
Conclusion
Abbreviations
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
I
Godwin, aged 38, by Thomas Kearsley, 1794. Engraved by P. Roberts (National Portrait Gallery, London)
II
Wisbech, engraved in 1756 by Dr. Massey (Wisbech and Fenland Museum)
III
Guestwick Old Meeting House, sketched in 1850 by Joseph Davey (Dr. Williams s Library, London)
IV
Old Meeting House, Norwich (Norfolk County Library)
V
Samuel Newton, artist unknown (Old Meeting House, Norwich)
VI
Andrew Kippis, artist unknown (author s collection)
VII
Thomas Holcroft, c . 1804, by John Opie (National Portrait Gallery, London)
VIII
Frontispiece of an unidentified pamphlet (By permission of the Trustees of the British Museum)
IX
Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1795, by P. Vandyke (National Portrait Gallery, London)
X
William Wordsworth in 1798, by R. Hancock (National Portrait Gallery, London)
XI
Godwin and Thomas Holcroft at the 1794 Treason Trials, sketched by Sir Thomas Lawrence (now in the National Portrait Gallery, London)
XII
Godwin, aged 39, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1795. Engraved by W. Ridley (author s collection, original drawing in the British Museum)
XIII
Amelia Opie, nee Alderson, in 1798, by John Opie (National Portrait Gallery, London)
XIV
Elizabeth Inchbald, by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Engraved by Freeman (author s collection)
XV
Mrs. Wollstonecraft , c . 1796, by John Opie. Engraved by W. Ridley (author s collection)
XVI
Mary Wollstonecraft in 1797, by John Opie (National Portrait Gallery, London)
XVII
Godwin, aged 42, by J. W. Chandler, 1798 (Tate Gallery, London)
XVIII
Godwin s Diary, 27 August-9 September 1797 (Bodleian Library, Oxford, owned by Lord Abinger)
XIX
Mrs. Godwin , artist unknown. Engraved by J. Chapman (author s collection)
XX
New Morality , by James Gillray for the Anti-Jacobin: or Magazine and Review (1798) (By permission of the Trustees of the British Museum; now in the National Portrait Gallery, London)
XXI
Charles Lamb in 1804, by William Hazlitt (National Portrait Gallery, London)
XXII
Godwin, aged 45, by James Northcote, 1801 (National Portrait Gallery, London)
XXIII
Godwin, aged 45, by James Sharples, 1801 (City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery)
XXIV
Mary Jane Clairmont, by family tradition (whereabouts of the original unknown, photograph owned by Marion K. Stocking)
XXV
View of Skinner Street from Fleet Market, 1803 (Greater London Council Map and Print Collections)
XXVI
William Godwin to Francis Place, 11 September 1814 (Place Papers, by permission of the British Library)
XXVII