Letters written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark'If ever there was a book calculated to make a man in love with its author, this appears to me to be the book.' William Godwin, the author's future husband, was not alone in admiring Letters written during a short residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, Wollstonecraft's most popular book during her lifetime. Not easy to categorize, it is both an arresting travel book and a moving exploration of her personal and political selves. Wollstonecraft set out for Scandinavia just two weeks after her first suicide attempt, on a mission from the lover whose affections she doubted, to recover his silver on a ship that had gone missing. With her baby daughter and a nursemaid, she travelled across the dramatic landscape and wrote sublime descriptions of the natural world, and the events and people she encountered. What emerges most vividly is Wollstonecraft's courage and ability to look beyond her own suffering to the turmoil around her in revolutionary Europe, and a better future. This edition includes further material on the silver ship, Wollstonecraft's personal letters to Imlay during her trip, an extract from Godwin's memoir, and a selection of contemporary reviews. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more. |
Contents
Wollstonecrafts Commission from Imlay | 135 |
Wollstonecrafts Letter to the Danish Prime Minister Count Bernstorff | 137 |
Wollstonecrafts Letters to Imlay | 140 |
From William Godwin Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman | 154 |
Contemporary Reviews | 157 |
Explanatory Notes | 166 |
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Common terms and phrases
Adieu affection allowed Altona amongst Analytical Review appearance arrived Backman beauty Bernstorff Bernt Anker boat character child Christiania coast Copenhagen count Bernstorff cultivation Danish daughter Denmark Ellefsen emotions endeavour England English excited eyes fancy Fanny feel France French Revolution Gilbert Imlay girl give Godwin Gothenburg grand Hamburg happiness heart horses human imagination informed inhabitants interest Johnson Joseph Johnson journey king labour land Larvik Letters Written live London manners Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Memoirs mind Moral nature necessary never Newington Green night Norway Norwegian Nyström obliged observation passed picturesque pleasure political Prince produced reflections render Residence in Sweden reveries Rights of Woman Risør rixdollars rocks Royal Scandinavia scarcely seemed seldom sensibility sentiments Short Residence society soul spirits Stromstad sublime sufficient Swedish taste thing thought tion Tonsberg town Vindication whilst William Godwin wished Wollstonecraft's Letters women write