The Plays of William Godwin
Editor: David O’Shaughnessy
The Pickering Masters
Hb: c.400pp: December 2009
978 1 85196 631 8: 234x156mm: £100/$180
Best known for Enquiry
Concerning Political Justice (1793)
and Caleb Williams (1794), William
Godwin (1756–1836) is one of
the most important figures of the
Romantic period. He wrote four
plays; Antonio; or, The Soldier’s
Return (1800) and Faulkener, A
Tragedy (1807) were published
in his lifetime, whilst St Dunstan
(1790) and Abbas, King of Persia
(1801) exist only in manuscript. The
plays cover a substantial period
of Godwin’s career and bracket
his period of greatest fame and
creativity.
Until now, the plays have not been
available in a modern scholarly
format. This modern critical edition
is edited to the highest standards
and offers academics the chance
to build a more complete picture
of Godwin as a writer and political
figure. It will be essential for those
studying Literature, Romanticism
and History of the Theatre.
w w w. p i c k e r i n g c h a t t o . c o m /g o d w i n p l a y s
William Godwin, from
William Godwin: his Friends and
Contemporaries, Charles Kegan Paul (1876)
• first modern scholarly
presentation of the plays of
this increasingly important
Romantic figure
• includes Godwin’s unpublished
‘Note on Tragedy’
• includes two little-known
plays which have never been
published before and are not
available electronically
• provides a vital and previously
untapped source for
understanding theatre of the
Romantic period
• editorial apparatus includes
a substantial general
introduction, a chronology,
endnotes, and a select
bibliography
Contents
St Dunstan (1790)
St Dunstan represents Godwin’s first response
to the events of the French Revolution. In this
five act tragedy he also begins to explore some of
the key ideas that would shape Political Justice.
Antonio; or,
The Soldier’s Return (1800)
Godwin spent almost four years writing this
tragedy in the 1790s. The play is an important
reaction against the culture of spectacle of the
London theatre which he felt denigrated the
function of drama and is closely associated with
the politics of his collection of essays
The Enquirer (1797).
Abbas, King of Persia (1801)
Although there are only three acts of this
tragedy remaining, Abbas reveals a strong
Shakespearean influence as well as being an
excellent example of the Romantic interest
in Orientalism. The play-text incorporates
annotations by Coleridge and Charles Lamb
whose advice Godwin sought during the play’s
composition.
Faulkener, A Tragedy (1807)
Faulkener represents Godwin’s greatest
success on the stage and in its conformity to the
structure and themes of contemporary plays
represents a growing pragmatism on Godwin’s
part of what was politically and artistically
possible on the Georgian stage.

Related titles
The Political and The Collected Novels
Philosophical Writings of and Memoirs of William
William Godwin Godwin
General Editor: Mark Philp Editors: Pamela Clemit, Maurice Hindle
and Mark Philp
The Pickering Masters
7 Volume Set: 2632pp: 1993 The Pickering Masters
978 1 85196 026 2: 234x156mm: £525/$925 8 Volume Set: 2024pp: 1992
978 1 85196 007 1: 234x156mm: £550/$975
www.pickeringchatto.com/godwinpolitical
www.pickeringchatto.com/godwincollected

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