296 Appendix 1
he was invited to travel with Cook on his second voyage (1772–1775).
In the wake of that trip, Forster wrote Observations Made During a
Voyage Round the World (1778).
Gay, John (1685 –1732). English poet and playwright. He was a friend and
contemporary to both Swift and Pope. Wollstonecraft cites from his
poem “The Tame Stag” in Fables (1727) to make a point about the na-
ture of modesty rooted in reason as opposed to mere bashfulness. Gay is
best known for a satirical work entitled “The Beggar’s Opera” (1728).
Genlis, Stéphanie-Félicité du Crest, Madame de (1746 –1830). French
writer, educator, and harpist. Her most famous work is Les Veillées du
château (1784: Tales of the Castle), a set of moral stories written for
young people. Wollstonecraft gives a qualifi ed recommendation of her
works, which she fi nds somewhat useful, but also of an especially “nar-
row” perspective.
Godwin, William (1756 –1836). English writer known for both his novels
and his political writings. He and Wollstonecraft shared many mutual
friends and traveled in some of the same intellectual circles. They met
for the fi rst time in 1791, and by 1796 they became close friends and
eventually lovers. When Wollstonecraft became pregnant with their
daughter Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (1797–1851), the author of Fran-
kenstein (1818), they were married, although they continued to live and
work in separate homes. Shortly after Wollstonecraft died from compli-
cations of childbirth, Godwin wrote a very infl uential biography of her,
Memoirs of the Author of “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” He
recorded her life in loving detail, but his efforts, especially to provide an
account of her previous relationship to Gilbert Imlay and her suicide at-
tempts, had the unintended consequence of darkening Wollstonecraft’s
reputation and perpetuating an image of her as especially licentious.
Opponents of women’s rights used this image of Wollstonecraft to dis-
credit her and the women’s rights movement after her death.
Godwin and Wollstonecraft shared a rationalist political theory, but
Wollstonecraft did not share his atheism or anarchism. Two of his best-
known works include a political treatise, Enquiry Concerning Political
Justice, and its Infl uence on General Virtue and Happiness, and a novel,
Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams. In Politi-
cal Justice, Godwin defends an anarchist political theory whereby the
perfectibility of humans and the power of human reason play a central
part in a healthy society, while institutions such as property law and
marriage are unnecessary.