St. Leon : A Tale of the Sixteenth Century

William Godwin

ISBN 10: 1551115387 / ISBN 13: 9781551115382

Published by Broadview Press Ltd Feb 2006, 2006

About this Item

Neuware - St Leon (1799), Godwin's second novel, is a work of challenging ambition. Like his first, Caleb Williams (1794), it is a confessional tale of obsession and spiralling pursuit. In St Leon the emphasis is on the individual's powerlessness in the face of momentous historical change. Set during the Protestant Reformation, St Leon tells the harrowing tale of an exiled French aristocrat who is given the secrets of the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life. His attempts to use these gifts to benefit humanity lead only to disaster. Plunged into self-destructive isolation, he wanders through the centres of European religious controversy, arousing fascination, suspicion, and social unrest wherever he goes. The text of this first paperback edition is based on the 'Bentley's Standard Novels' edition of 1831.

Seller Inventory # 9781551115382

Bibliographic Details

• Title: St. Leon : A Tale of the Sixteenth Century
• Publisher: Broadview Press Ltd Feb 2006
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1551115387
• ISBN 13: 9781551115382
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 216W x 141H x 23D millimeters 216 millimeters width by 141 millimeters height by 23 millimeters depth
• Weight: 494 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Set in Europe during the Protestant Reformation and first published in 1799, St. Leon tells the story of an impoverished aristocrat who obtains the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of immortality. In this philosophical fable, endless riches and immortal life prove to be curses rather than gifts and transform St. Leon into an outcast. William Godwin’s second full-length novel explores the predicament of a would-be philanthropist whose attempts to benefit humanity are frustrated by superstition and ignorance.

This Broadview edition includes a critical introduction and full annotation. The appendices include contemporary reviews of the novel; Godwin’s writings on immortality, the domestic affections, and alchemy; and selections from works influenced by St. Leon, most notably Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

About the Author

William Brewer is a Professor of English at Appalachian State University. His publications include The Shelley-Byron Conversation (1994) and The Mental Anatomies of William Godwin and Mary Shelley (2001).