Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman
by William Godwin
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William Godwin's memoir of his wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, marks a transition in Godwin's philosophical development from extreme rationalism to the recognition of the moral importance of feeling and sympathy which was to energize his later writings. Memoirsalso belongs to a tradition of biographical writing that sought to transform the consciousness of readers by using individual history as an agent of historical change. Written during the weeks following Wollstonecraft's early death, show more Memoirsprovides an interpretation of the relations between Wollstonecraft's writings and her personal history, a candid account of her various relationships, and a vindication of her egalitarian intimacy with Godwin. This modern, scholarly edition, geared for student use, includes a wide range of primary sources, together with excerpts from Godwin's other writings and from biographical models. show lessTags
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After the death of Mary Wollstonecraft her husband, the writer William Godwin wrote a short memoir describing her life. Mary Wollstonecraft was a feminist, in favor of free love. She had a passionate love affair and a child with the American Gilbert Imlay during the French Revolution in Paris. She is most well known for her A vindication of the rights of woman.
She later married Wlliam Godwin and had a second daughter with him, the later Mary Shelley.
Godwin's honest and truthful memoir caused a scandal upon publication.
She later married Wlliam Godwin and had a second daughter with him, the later Mary Shelley.
Godwin's honest and truthful memoir caused a scandal upon publication.
The memoirs of Mary Wollstonecraft, as published by William Godwin. This recounting of her life was shocking to the eighteenth and nineteenth century reader. Not so shocking to read of the life of an independent woman.
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Author Information
65+ Works 2,338 Members
Writer William Godwin was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire on March 3, 1756. He attended Hoxton Presbyterian College and became a minister. He left the ministry in 1787 in order to become a full-time writer. His best-known works are Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793) and The Adventures of Caleb Williams (1794). In 1797, he married feminist show more writer Mary Wollstonecraft and they had a child who later became known as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley the author of Frankenstein. He primarily wrote novels during his later years, including Mandeville (1817), Cloudesley (1830) and Deloraine (1833). He died on April 7, 1836. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman
- Original publication date
- 1798
- People/Characters
- Mary Wollstonecraft
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Biography & Memoir, Literature Studies and Criticism
- DDC/MDS
- 828.609 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English miscellaneous writings English miscellaneous writings 1745-1799
- LCC
- PR5841 .W8 .Z714 — Language and Literature English English Literature 19th century , 1770/1800-1890/1900
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 69
- Popularity
- 440,275
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.42)
- Languages
- English, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 24
- ASINs
- 2
