The Godwinian Novel: The Rational Fictions of Godwin, Brockden Brown, Mary Shelley

by Pamela Clemit

Overview

The Godwinian Novel is a pioneering analysis of the school of fiction inaugurated by William Godwin, and developed in the works of his principal followers, Charles Brockden Brown and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. In the first study of these authors as a historically specific group, Pamela Clemit argues for a greater unity between Godwin's fictional techniques and his radical political philosophy than has been perceived. Her analysis of the works of Brown and Mary Shelley, moreover, reveals how these writers modified, reshaped, and redefined Godwin's distinctive themes and techniques in response to shifting ideological pressures in the post-revolutionary period. Examining prose fiction in a period traditionally seen as dominated by poetry, Clemit stresses the necessity for a revised view of British Romanticism. Uncovering the links between Godwin's fictional analysis of subjective experience and his progressive political philosophy, The Godwinian Novel paves the way for a reappraisal of the apparently quietistic and introspective concerns of other writers of the period.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198112204
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/22/1993
Series:	Oxford English Monographs
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	8.78(w) x 5.82(h) x 0.91(d)

About the Author

Pamela Clemit is Professor of English at Queen Mary University of London and a Supernumerary Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford. She is also the recipient of the 2016 Keats-Shelley Association of America Distinguished Scholar Award.

Table of Contents

	Abbreviations and Conventions	x
	Introduction	1
Part I
1.	Imogen: Godwin's Fictional Debut	13
2.	Caleb Williams: The Paradigm of the Godwinian Novel	35
3.	Godwin's Historical Novels: Theory and Practice	70
Part II
4.	Wieland: Charles Brockden Brown's American Tale	105
5.	Frankenstein: Mary Shelley's Myth-Making	139
6.	Mary Shelley's Novels of the 1820s: History and Prophecy	175
	Afterword: Rereading the Godwinian Novel	211
	Bibliography	220
	Index	245

Editorial Reviews

"An intelligent, useful, and suggestive study for students of both American and British fiction of the early nineteenth century."—Nineteenth-Century Literature

"The question ‘Was there a Godwin "school"?' is not the primary focus of this book, but one of the many virtues of Pamela Clemit's intelligent study is that we are, by the end, left in little doubt about the answer. This is a sure and useful book, unfussily written and admirably referenced. It is informative and convincing, and has a strong sense of literary form as well as an enviable grasp of the currents of thought over half a century. As such, Clemit makes a commendable contribution to our knowledge and understanding both of the Godwin circle and of the revolutionary period."—Modern Language Review

From the Publisher