An impressive and well-crafted essay collection that will be of real interest to Godwin scholars at a time when he remains a prominent figure within Romantic debates.

• Paul Keen, is Professor of English at Carleton University, Canada, and author of A Defence of the Humanities in a Utilitarian Age (2020).

This collection showcases work on William Godwin (1756-1836) foregrounding new critical approaches and uncovering new texts. Godwin is a familiar presence in scholarship on the Shelley-Godwin circle and on Dissenting intellectual circles, but the present collection considers him closely as an author and thinker on his own terms. The range of texts and topics covered by this collection will be of interest both to scholars familiar with Godwin and those approaching his work for the first time.

Autorentext
Eliza O'Brien works in further education, and has published a range of articles on Godwin and his circle. 

Helen Stark works at University College London, UK. She has published on Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Lord Byron. Her PhD on men of feeling and national identity in Romantic Literature was awarded by Newcastle University, UK, in 2013. 

Beatrice Turner works at the University of Roehampton, UK. Her first monograph, Romantic Childhood, Romantic Heirs: Reproduction and Retrospection 1820-1850, was published in 2017. 

Zusammenfassung

This collection showcases work on William Godwin (1756-1836) foregrounding new critical approaches and uncovering new texts. Godwin is a familiar presence in scholarship on the Shelley-Godwin circle and on Dissenting intellectual circles, but the present collection considers him closely as an author and thinker on his own terms. The range of texts and topics covered by this collection will be of interest both to scholars familiar with Godwin and those approaching his work for the first time. 

Inhalt
1.Introduction to New Approaches to William Godwin: Forms, Fears, FuturesPart I.Forms2.Godwin, Ireland, and Historical Tragedy3.'My son, once my friend': Sanguinity, Sincerity, and Friendship in St. Leon's Confessional Narrative4.Through the Looking Glasses: Godwin's Biographies for ChildrenPart II.Fears5.Candour, Courage, and the Calculation of Consequences in Godwin's 1790s6.Godwin's Fear of the Private Affections7.Gifts, Giving, Gratitude: The Development of William Godwin's Radical Critique of Charity in the 1790s8.Gines, Violence, and Fear in Things as They Are; or, the Adventures of Caleb WilliamsPart III.Futures9.Godwin's Popular Stories for the Nursery10.Godwin and the Love of Fame11.An Illustrated Afterlife: William Godwin's Essay on Sepulchres12.Godwin's Citations, 17832005: Highest Renown at the Pinnacle of Disfavour