William Godwin

William Godwin
Born	March 3, 1756 Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, UK
Died	April 7, 1836 (age 80) London, UK
Categories	Books by William Godwin

William Godwin (1756 – 1836), a British journalist, political philosopher and novelist wrote Lives of the Necromancers in 1834.

Biography

He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism, and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for two books that he published within the space of a year: An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, an attack on political institutions, and Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams, which attacks aristocratic privilege, but also is virtually the first mystery novel.

He was married to the pioneering feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft in 1797 and their child, Mary Godwin (later Mary Shelley) would go on to write Frankenstein and marry the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Godwin wrote prolifically in the genres of novels, history and demography throughout his lifetime. With his second wife, Mary Jane Clairmont, he wrote children's primers on Biblical and classical history, which he published along with such works as Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare.

Using the pseudonym Edward Baldwin, he wrote a variety of books for children, including a version of Jack and the Beanstalk. He also has had considerable influence on British literature and literary culture.

Books related to magic

• Lives of the Necromancers (1834)

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