Delphi Complete Works of William Godwin

by William Godwin, Delphi Classics (Editor)

The father of Mary Shelley, William Godwin was a novelist and social philosopher, whose revolutionary works anticipated the English Romantic literary movement, advancing atheism, anarchism and personal freedom. Godwin’s idealistic liberalism was based on the principle of the absolute sovereignty and competence of reason to determine right choice. His masterpiece, ‘An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice’ rejects conventional government by demonstrating the corrupting evil and tyranny inherent in its power of manipulation. His famous novel ‘Caleb Williams’, an early mystery novel, attacks aristocratic privilege and promotes key concerns of the Enlightenment. Godwin featured prominently in the radical circles of London, writing prolifically in various genres throughout his life. This comprehensive eBook presents Godwin’s complete fictional works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)

* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Godwin’s life and works
* Concise introductions to the novels and other texts
* All 9 novels, with individual contents tables
* Features rare novels
* Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts
* Excellent formatting of the texts
* Rare non-fiction works
* Includes Godwin’s revealing memoir of his first wife, Mary Wollstonecraft
* Special criticism section, with essays evaluating Godwin’s contribution to literature
* Features a bonus biography – discover Godwin’s literary life
* Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres



The Novels
Damon and Delia (1784)
Italian Letters (1784)
Imogen (1784)
Things as They Are (1794) [Caleb Williams]
St. Leon (1799)
Fleetwood (1805)
Mandeville (1817)
Cloudesley (1830)
Deloraine (1833)

The Non-Fiction
A Defence of the Rockingham Party (1783)
The History of the Life of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (1783)
An Account of the Seminary (1783)
Instructions to a Statesman (1784)
The Herald of Literature (1784)
An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Political Justice (1793)
Thoughts on Man, his Nature, Productions, and Discoveries (1831)
Lives of the Necromancers (1834)

The Memoir
Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1798)

The Criticism
William Godwin (1825) by William Hazlitt
Mr. Godwin (1830) by William Hazlitt
Review of ‘Lives of the Necromancers’ (1835) by Edgar Allan Poe
William Godwin’s Novels (1898) by Leslie Stephen
Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle (1913) by Henry Noel Brailsford

The Biography
William Godwin (1900) by Leslie Stephen

5455 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 24, 2022

About the author

William Godwin was the son and grandson of strait-laced Calvinist ministers. Strictly-raised, he followed in paternal footsteps, becoming a minister by age 22. His reading of atheist d'Holbach and others caused him to lose both his belief in the doctrine of eternal damnation, and his ministerial position. Through further reading, Godwin gradually became godless. He promoted anarchism (but not anarchy). His Political Justice and The Enquirer (1793) argued for morality without religion, causing a scandal. He followed that philosophical book with a trail-blazing fictional adventure-detective story, Caleb Williams (1794), to introduce readers to his ideas in a popular format. Godwin, a leading thinker and author ranking in his day close to Thomas Paine, was enormously influential among famous peers.

He and Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, secretly married in 1797. She died tragically after giving birth to daughter Mary in 1797. Godwin's loving but candid biography of his wife, Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1798), further scandalized society. Godwin, caring not only for the baby Mary, but her half-sister Fanny, remarried. He and his second wife opened a bookshop for children. Godwin, out of necessity, became a proficient author of children's books, employing a pseudonym due to his notoriety. His daughter Mary, at 16, famously ran off with poet Percy Shelley, whose Necessity of Atheism was influenced by Godwin. Mary's novel Frankenstein also paid homage to her father's views. Godwin's life was marked by poverty and further domestic tragedies. Godwin's prized manuscript attacked the Christian religion and was intended to free the mind from slavery. The Genius of Christianity Unveiled: in a Series of Essays was published only many years after his death.