William Godwin: his Friends and Contemporaries
Ch. V. 1802-1803
Charles Lamb to Mary Jane Godwin, [February 1806?]
“Dear Mrs G.,—Having
observed with some concern that Mr
Godwin is a little fastidious in what he eats for supper, I
herewith beg to present his palate with a piece of dried salmon. I am assured
it is the best that swims in Trent. If you do not know how to dress it, allow
me to add, that it should be cut in thin slices and boiled in paper previously prepared in butter. Wishing it exquisite, I
remain,—Much as before, yours sincerely,
“Some add mashed
potatoes.”
Mary Jane Godwin [née Vial] (1768-1841)
The second wife of William Godwin, whom she married in 1801 after a previous relationship
in which was born her daughter Claire Clairmont (1798-1879). With her husband she was a
London bookseller.
William Godwin (1756-1836)
English novelist and political philosopher; author of
An Inquiry
concerning the Principles of Political Justice (1793) and
Caleb
Williams (1794); in 1797 he married Mary Wollstonecraft.
