William Godwin

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 terrible secret. But as he digs deeper into Falkland’s past and finally unearths the guilty 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 (1794) makes a radical call to end the tyrannical misuses of power.

Caleb Williams

Joshua Line

Pamela Clemit

He appears to be persecutor and I the persecuted: is not this difference the mere creature of the imagination?'Young Caleb is a guileless servant who enters the employment of the charismatic Ferdinando Falkland. Falkland, an apparently cosmopolitan and benevolent country squire, is subject to unexplained melancholy, and Caleb becomes convinced that he harbours a dark secret. His discovery of the truth leads to falseaccusations against him, and an unremitting and vengeful persecution as suspenseful as any thriller.The novel is also a powerful political allegory, inspired by Godwin's passionately held beliefsconcerning social justice in the decade following the French Revolution. This new edition reproduces the original novel of 1794, which captures the raw indignation and injustice felt by victims of British law. It also includes the startlingly different manuscript ending, and selected variants from later editions reflecting changes in Godwin's philosophical thinking.

Caleb Williams

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