Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Pennell, 1885)
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
GODWIN
BY
ELIZABETH ROBINS PENNELL
LONDON:
W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE, S.W.
1885.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. S.W.
PREFACE.
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Comparatively little has been written about the life of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. The two chief authorities upon the subject are William Godwin and Mr. C. Kegan Paul. In writing the following Biography I have relied chiefly upon the Memoir written by the former, and the Life of Godwin and Prefatory Memoir to the Letters to Imlay of the latter. I have endeavoured to supplement the facts recorded in these books by a careful analysis of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin's writings and study of the period in which she lived.
I must here express my thanks to Dr. Richard Garnett, and to Mr. C. Kegan Paul, for the kind assistance they have given me in my work. To the first-named of these gentlemen I am indebted for the loan of a manuscript containing some particulars of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin's last illness which have never yet appeared in print, and to the latter for the gift, as well as the loan, of several important books.
E. R. P.
CONTENTS.
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Introduction | 1 |
CHAPTER I.—Childhood and Early Youth. 1759–1778 | 5 |
CHAPTER II.—First Years of Work. 1778–1785 | 20 |
CHAPTER III.—Life as Governess. 1786–1788 | 44 |
CHAPTER IV.—Literary Life. 1788–1791 | 65 |
CHAPTER V.—Literary Work. 1788–1791 | 83 |
CHAPTER VI.—"Vindication of the Rights of Women" | 90 |
CHAPTER VII.—Visit to Paris. 1792–1793 | 101 |
CHAPTER VIII.—Life with Imlay. 1793–1794 | 122 |
CHAPTER IX.—Imlay's Desertion. 1794–1795 | 135 |
CHAPTER X.—Literary Work. 1793–1796 | 151 |
CHAPTER XI.—Retrospective. 1794–1796 | 163 |
CHAPTER XII.—William Godwin | 168 |
CHAPTER XIII.—Life with Godwin: Marriage. 1796–1797 | 185 |
CHAPTER XIV.—Last Months: Death. 1797 | 197 |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1936, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 87 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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