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Adventures of Caleb Williams, Volume 1 by William Godwin, 1794

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Rating: 3.75 stars


I read this at the beginning of the month and several books ago, so it isn't that fresh in my mind. The main character is a young man wrongly accused of murder in 18th century rural England.

I really didn't expect to like this book much due to its age, but it was a pleasant surprise. For a book written in the 18th century, this is very readable and accessible. Although the genre didn't exist yet, the book has some elements of a mystery or suspense novel. A bit of trivia, the author is the father of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.

I seem to be saying this a lot lately but I enjoyed this more than I expected to. This is really an adventure story where our hero must overcome the calamities of fortune before eventually finding peace.

Godwin took an interesting stance in the fact that even while Caleb is being persecuted he keeps his secret until the very last and that even while persecuting him Falkland does seem to in some way care about the young man even to the point of protecting him in certain instances.

The downfall of these 2 men all begins with an abuse of power by another man which has implications for Falklands reputation in a ironic twist of fate it is then Falklands turn to abuse his own power.

In some ways this reminded me of Les Miserables (albeit in an English setting) the relentless persecution, the imprisonment and escape and the never being able to settle without watching over your shoulder.

3 Stars more fun than I was expecting.

***1/2

I was surprised by how much I appreciated this novel. Although written in a heavy late-18th century style, it depicts the revenge that Squire Falkland inflicts upon his secretary, Caleb Williams, when the latter figures out that the former has committed murder upon a troublesome neighbour and led two farming tenants to the gallows. A lot of the story revolves around the social and legal iniquities of the era, as Caleb tries to escape his fate and finally live his own life, unharrassed. This novel, with its exploration of abuses of power and their impact on those who undeservedly are on the receiving end, would be a companion read to Sade's Justine, also written at around the same time, but in pre-French Revolution context.