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Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams
Ebook506 pages8 hours

Caleb Williams

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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When honest young Caleb Williams comes to work as a secretary for Squire Falkland, he soon begins to suspect that his new master is hiding a secret. As he digs deeper into Falkland's past and finally unearths the horrible truth, the results of his curiosity prove calamitous when—even though Caleb has loyally sworn never to disclose what he has discovered—the Squire enacts a cruel revenge. A tale of gripping suspense and psychological power, William Godwin's novel creates a searing depiction of the intolerable persecution meted out to a good man in pursuit of justice and equality. Written to expose the political oppression and corrupt hierarchies its author saw in the world around him, Caleb Williams makes a radical call to end the tyrannical misuses of power.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 1, 2013
ISBN9781627939065
Author

William Godwin

William Godwin was one of the most celebrated philosophers of the English Enlightenment. He fell in love love with and married the radical feminist Mary Wollstonecraft in 1797, only to attend her deathbed months later (giving birth to their child, the late Mary Shelley). Heartbroken, Godwin immediately wrote The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft, a radically frank and intensely moving biography.

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Rating: 3.6080001360000002 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It took me a little while to get into this, but once I did, I ended up really enjoying it. Other than the reviews, which were interesting, I didn't think the extra stuff in this Broadview edition added all that much to the story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is a very good study of the nature of man. It is also one of the first political, social, and judicial thrillers that had a great influence on such writers as Poe and Dickens and was instrumental in the evolution of modern day mysteries and detective stories. It is a very powerful story and I was actually sickened at the thought of all the injustices that Caleb Williams was put through. It seems to me that much has not changed since this novel was written as these injustices are still relevant today. I highly recommend this book as it is a testimony of these everyday injustices that should not be forgotten. This classic, although not very well known, is an important piece of literary fiction and should not be missed.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A rollicking thriller, though gets awfully repetitive at times. Though it was intended as a showcase for Godwin's political ideas, the story takes on a life of its own and sometimes seems to contradict his political precepts. It is perhaps at its most interesting when it does so.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Godwin depicts Caleb Williams as an unforunate who is bedeviled by a relentless monster of a man who will be conten with nothing less than total ruin. The narrative is in the first person. Only gradually does the reader come to realize how much Caleb William himself is the blame for his own troubles; moreover one begins to wonder if this is a portrait of madness. Is there truly a pursuer bent on his destruction. Whatever the outcome, Godwin's prose keeps the reader interested. Godwin was married to Mary Wolstonecraft and was the step-father (perhaps father) of Mary Shelly who wrote Frankenstein.

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Caleb Williams - William Godwin

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