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.

Develops and extends the current scholarly interest in William Godwin's work Examines familiar and unfamiliar texts by Godwin and opens up new areas of critical discussion via archival research Argues for a fresh approach to Godwin's life and work and calls for a wider frame for critical analysis

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.

Inhalt

1. Introduction to New Approaches to William Godwin: Forms, Fears, Futures.- Part I. Forms.- 2. Godwin, Ireland, and Historical Tragedy.- 3. 'My son, once my friend': Sanguinity, Sincerity, and Friendship in St. Leon's Confessional Narrative.- 4. Through the Looking Glasses: Godwin's Biographies for Children.- Part II. Fears.- 5. Candour, Courage, and the Calculation of Consequences in Godwin's 1790s.- 6. Godwin's Fear of the Private Affections.- 7. Gifts, Giving, Gratitude: The Development of William Godwin's Radical Critique of Charity in the 1790s.- 8. Gines, Violence, and Fear in Things as They Are; or, the Adventures of Caleb Williams.- Part III. Futures.- 9. Godwin's Popular Stories for the Nursery.- 10. Godwin and the Love of Fame.- 11. An Illustrated Afterlife: William Godwin's Essay on Sepulchres.- 12. Godwin's Citations, 17832005: Highest Renown at the Pinnacle of Disfavour.