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Mary Shelley - Letter to Percy Bysshe Shelley

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Shelley and Mary arrived back in London to face the almost universal disapproval of family and friends, and severe money problems.
Shelley was now financially responsible for Mary and Claire as well as Harriet, who was heavily pregnant with their second child. Godwin refused to see him, but drew on his resources. Mary wrote this impassioned letter to Shelley when he was in hiding from his numerous creditors. They could meet only on Sundays, when it was illegal to make arrests for debt.
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
People
Nouran Koriem
Keywords
#greatwriters
journal
shelley's ghost
mary shelley. percy bysshe shelley
biography
history
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:01:38

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Mary Shelley - Letter to Percy Bysshe Shelley

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Shelley and Mary arrived back in London to face the almost universal disapproval of family and friends, and severe money problems.
Shelley was now financially responsible for Mary and Claire as well as Harriet, who was heavily pregnant with their second child. Godwin refused to see him, but drew on his resources. Mary wrote this impassioned letter to Shelley when he was in hiding from his numerous creditors. They could meet only on Sundays, when it was illegal to make arrests for debt.
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
People
Nouran Koriem
Keywords
journal
shelley's ghost
biography
mary shelley. percy bysshe shelley
history
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:01:38

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Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley - Joint journal entry

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Shelley and Mary eloped at 4.15 am on 28 July 1814, accompanied by Mary's step-sister Jane Clairmont.
They were pursued by Mrs Godwin (Claire's mother), who caught up with them the following day at Calais, but failed to persuade them to return. On 2 August Shelley, Mary and Claire reached Paris, where they purchased this notebook. Shelley wrote up their dramatic flight from England, the stormy crossing (during which he began 'to reason upon death') and their arrival in France. Mary makes her first contribution to the journal by lightly completing a sentence: 'Mary was there. Shelley was also with me.'
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
People
Henry Cockburn
Keywords
#greatwriters
journal
shelley's ghost
mary shelley. percy bysshe shelley
biography
history
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:05:05

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Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley - Joint journal entry

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Shelley and Mary eloped at 4.15 am on 28 July 1814, accompanied by Mary's step-sister Jane Clairmont.
They were pursued by Mrs Godwin (Claire's mother), who caught up with them the following day at Calais, but failed to persuade them to return. On 2 August Shelley, Mary and Claire reached Paris, where they purchased this notebook. Shelley wrote up their dramatic flight from England, the stormy crossing (during which he began 'to reason upon death') and their arrival in France. Mary makes her first contribution to the journal by lightly completing a sentence: 'Mary was there. Shelley was also with me.'
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
People
Henry Cockburn
Keywords
journal
shelley's ghost
biography
mary shelley. percy bysshe shelley
history
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:05:05

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Percy Bysshe Shelley: Letter to William Godwin

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Using false names, Shelley sent copies of The Necessity of the Atheism to 'men of thought and learning', including bishops and clergymen.
Here, writing as 'Jennings Stukeley', he sends 'a tract' to William Godwin, expressing his hope that, if correct, it will 'festinate' the impact of Political Justice. This unusual word, meaning to hasten, is typical of the learned pose Shelley adopts. He makes no mention of his youth, and when sending a copy of The Necessity of Atheism to the Rector of Redmarshall he assumed the role of 'Charles Meyton', a well to do elderly clergyman.
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
People
Henry Cockburn
Keywords
Percy Bysshe Shelley
bodleian
atheism
#greatwriters
shelley's ghost
shelley
godwin
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:01:30

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Percy Bysshe Shelley: Letter to William Godwin

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Using false names, Shelley sent copies of The Necessity of the Atheism to 'men of thought and learning', including bishops and clergymen.
Here, writing as 'Jennings Stukeley', he sends 'a tract' to William Godwin, expressing his hope that, if correct, it will 'festinate' the impact of Political Justice. This unusual word, meaning to hasten, is typical of the learned pose Shelley adopts. He makes no mention of his youth, and when sending a copy of The Necessity of Atheism to the Rector of Redmarshall he assumed the role of 'Charles Meyton', a well to do elderly clergyman.
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
People
Henry Cockburn
Keywords
Percy Bysshe Shelley
bodleian
atheism
shelley's ghost
shelley
godwin
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:01:30

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William Godwin: Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Godwin's memoir of Mary Wollstonecraft has been called the first modern biography. At the time, however, its frankness and emotional candour provoked general outrage.
Godwin did not hesitate to include the most painful and scandalous episodes in Mary's life: her brutal, drunken father; her affair with Gilbert Imlay and the birth of their illegitimate daughter, Fanny; her two suicide attempts; her unconventional religious faith; the ghastly details of her death. The poet Robert Southey joined the chorus of disapproval and condemned Godwin for 'stripping his dead wife naked'.
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
People
Henry Cockburn
Keywords
vindication of rights of women
bodleian
feminism
mary wollstonecraft
#greatwriters
shelley's ghost
biography
shelley
godwin
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:08:05

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William Godwin: Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Godwin's memoir of Mary Wollstonecraft has been called the first modern biography. At the time, however, its frankness and emotional candour provoked general outrage.
Godwin did not hesitate to include the most painful and scandalous episodes in Mary's life: her brutal, drunken father; her affair with Gilbert Imlay and the birth of their illegitimate daughter, Fanny; her two suicide attempts; her unconventional religious faith; the ghastly details of her death. The poet Robert Southey joined the chorus of disapproval and condemned Godwin for 'stripping his dead wife naked'.
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
People
Henry Cockburn
Keywords
vindication of rights of women
bodleian
feminism
mary wollstonecraft
shelley's ghost
biography
shelley
godwin
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:08:05

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Mary Wollstonecraft Three notes to William Godwin

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Even after their marriage Godwin and Wollstonecraft preferred to live independently during the day, and communicate by correspondence.
They regularly exchanged anything from long, carefully composed letters to short notes dashed off on scraps of paper. Shown here are Mary's last three notes to Godwin, written while she was waiting impatiently for the delivery of her child ('the animal'), and seeking reassurance from the midwife, Mrs Blenkinsop. In her final note, Mary Wollstonecraft half-quotes her mother's last words; 'Have a little patience, and all will be over'. Her own daughter, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (later Mary Shelley), was born a few hours afterwards. It was a straightforward birth, but Mary Wollstonecraft soon contracted an infection, and died eleven days later.
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family
People
Hannah Morrell
Keywords
vindication of rights of women
bodleian
mary wollstonecraft
#greatwriters
shelley's ghost
feminism
shelley
godwin
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:01:39

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Mary Wollstonecraft Three notes to William Godwin

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
Embed
Part of the Shelley's Ghost Exhibition. Even after their marriage Godwin and Wollstonecraft preferred to live independently during the day, and communicate by correspondence.
They regularly exchanged anything from long, carefully composed letters to short notes dashed off on scraps of paper. Shown here are Mary's last three notes to Godwin, written while she was waiting impatiently for the delivery of her child ('the animal'), and seeking reassurance from the midwife, Mrs Blenkinsop. In her final note, Mary Wollstonecraft half-quotes her mother's last words; 'Have a little patience, and all will be over'. Her own daughter, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (later Mary Shelley), was born a few hours afterwards. It was a straightforward birth, but Mary Wollstonecraft soon contracted an infection, and died eleven days later.
Creative Commons Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK (BY-NC-SA): England & Wales; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Episode Information

Series
The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)
People
Hannah Morrell
Keywords
vindication of rights of women
bodleian
mary wollstonecraft
shelley's ghost
feminism
shelley
godwin
Department: Bodleian Libraries
Date Added: 02/12/2010
Duration: 00:01:39

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