William Godwin

William Godwin was an English writer, political philosopher, and author who was born on March 3, 1756, and died April 7, 1836. People think of him as one of the first people to support utilitarianism and the first person in modern times to support anarchism. Godwin is best known for writing two books in a year: An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, which was critical of political structures, and Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams, an early mystery novel that criticizes...See more

William Godwin was an English writer, political philosopher, and author who was born on March 3, 1756, and died April 7, 1836. People think of him as one of the first people to support utilitarianism and the first person in modern times to support anarchism. Godwin is best known for writing two books in a year: An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, which was critical of political structures, and Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams, an early mystery novel that criticizes the privileges of the wealthy. Because of the success of both, Godwin was well known in London's radical groups in the 1790s. During his lifetime, he wrote a lot of stories, history books, and books about population. As a conservative response to British radicalism, Godwin was criticized, in part because he married the feminist author Mary Wollstonecraft in 1797 and wrote an honest account of her after she died giving birth. Their daughter, who became better known as Mary Shelley, wrote Frankenstein and married the author Percy Bysshe Shelley. Godwin started The Juvenile Library with his second wife, Mary Jane Clairmont. This gave the family the chance to write their own children's books (sometimes under a pen name) and translate and print many other books, some of which are still important today. See less