Product Description

In these two closely linked works - a travel book and a biography of its author - we witness a moving encounter between two of the most daring and original minds of the late eighteenth century: A Short Residence in Sweden is the record of Wollstonecraft's last journey in search of happiness, into the remote and beautiful backwoods of Scandinavia. The quest for a lost treasure ship, the pain of a wrecked love affair, memories of the French Revolution, and the longing for some Golden Age, all shape this vivid narrative, which Richard Holmes argues is one of the neglected masterpieces of early English Romanticism. Memoirs is Godwin's own account of Wollstonecraft's life, written with passionate intensity a few weeks after her tragic death. Casting aside literary convention, Godwin creates an intimate portrait of his wife, startling in its candour and psychological truth. Received with outrage by friends and critics alike, and virtually suppressed for a century, it can now be recognized as one of the landmarks in the development of modern biography.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40078 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

A thrilling and moving account by an extraordinary woman
Mary Wollstonecraft is perhaps most famous for being the mother of Mary Shelley, author of the Gothic classic "Frankenstein", but this book proves her to be a fascinating subject and artist in her own right. This is one of the major literary contributions to Romanticism, but provides a more intimate and personal perspective than many of her male contemporaries. It is a love story, a history, travel guide and adventure story all rolled into one . When I first read the book I was amazed that a woman in the eighteenth century undertook such a journey. She was travelling in the little known Scandinavia, unaccompanied, and yet she remains couragous, feisty, passionate and intellectual throughout. This was a fascinating period in history, and Wolstonecraft crams all of the concerns of her time into this book. Her close link with Nature, a recurrent theme of the Romantics, informs the whole narrative, and her vibrant prose fills the reader's head with vivid images.

Wolstonecraft was only 38 when she died, and to my mind, remains one of the most neglected writers of the time. The second part of the book, is written by her husband Godwin. It is a biography of his wife, and is stimulating and moving. Wolstonecraft and Godwin campaigned for a freer and more just society and this book will bring the era alive in glowing colours. Her better known work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, is also highly recommended.

One for the Romantics.
This edition offers two works that complement each other with a sincerity and sagacity that is inspiring. Mary Wollstonecraft, the adventurous `single' mother, proto feminist, free thinker, seeking happiness but beset by a love for a man who is unable to return her devotion. William Godwin, intellectual, Radical, an objectively passionate writer who was to become an influential force for modern biographical development. Holmes' erudite introduction helpfully explains the context for Wollstonecraft's trip to Scandinavia, providing the biographical background necessary to understand Wollstonecraft's views on diverse issues such as commerce, the role of women, capital punishment, her lover's negligence towards her and their daughter (the ill fated Fanny). Godwin, as Holmes details, leaves no stone unturned as he explores the life of his short lived wife, never judgemental and full of compassion for Mary, her loves and ambitions. Indeed his description of her drawn out death is horrifying, intensely emotional and surprisingly sanguine: providing striking psychological observations . Ultimately, however, I was left with a deep sense of the confessional, both writers displaying an uninhibited desire to express feeling, sensuality, reasoning and the consequences of love. In telling passages Wollstonecraft describes herself `as a particle broken off from the grand mass of mankind' and humanity `born merely to be swept prematurely away.' Whereas Godwin reveals `a women universally well spoken of for the warmth and purity of her benevolence', a characteristic reflected in his views on her published Scandinavian correspondence, `if ever there was a book calculated to make a man in love with its author, this appears to me to be the book.' Well you were right William!