£895.00
GODWIN, William. History of the Commonwealth of England, from its Commencement, to the Restoration of Charles the Second. London: Printed for Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street, 1824–1828.
Complete in four volumes, published successively between 1824 and 1828. An extensive history of the English Commonwealth by William Godwin (1756–1836), the influential political philosopher, novelist and historian, and husband of Mary Wollstonecraft.
The work traces the turbulent period of the English Civil Wars, the execution of Charles I, establishment of the Commonwealth, and the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell through to the Restoration of Charles II.
Uniformly bound in green cloth with gilt lettering to spines. Some age-related rubbing and wear to bindings and occasional spotting and toning internally, consistent with age; overall an attractive complete set.
Date: 1824–1828
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Henry Colburn, London
Format: Four volumes, complete set
William Godwin was one of the most radical intellectual figures of Georgian Britain. His Enquiry Concerning Political Justice made him a major voice in debates surrounding political authority, individual liberty and the nature of government.
Later in life, Godwin turned his attention to one of the great constitutional upheavals of British history: the destruction of the monarchy under Charles I and England’s extraordinary experiment with republican government.
Published across four years, his History of the Commonwealth of England examines the Civil War, Parliament’s victory, the execution of Charles I, the rise of Cromwell and the eventual collapse of the Commonwealth.
There is also a remarkable literary connection. Godwin was the husband of Mary Wollstonecraft and father of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. The set therefore belongs not merely to English history, but to the intellectual world that produced some of the most important political and literary writing of the Romantic period.
A complete four-volume historical work by William Godwin, one of Britain’s most significant radical thinkers.
Its appeal crosses several collecting fields: English Civil War and Commonwealth history, Oliver Cromwell, political philosophy, Romantic-period literature and the Godwin–Wollstonecraft–Shelley circle.
Complete multi-volume sets are also considerably more desirable than isolated volumes, and this set presents particularly well together on the shelf.
