Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle

The English story of the French Revolution begins with a sermon—and ends, thirty-two years later, with a poem whose music seems to soar beyond human hearing.

In 1789, as revolution swept France, Dr. Richard Price told a London congregation that liberty could remake not just governments but human life. Henry Noel Brailsford traces the hopes that followed through a turbulent generation of English thinkers, from Godwin’s bold challenge to political authority to Shelley’s vision of a future beyond the familiar world. First came demands for fair Parliaments and an end to war; then revolution’s failures, repression and disillusionment sent those dreams in unexpected directions. What became of the hope that once seemed ready to transform England—and where could it go when experience dashed its earthly promises?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.