Caleb Williams

by William Godwin, Maurice Hindle (Introduction)

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 secret. As he digs deeper into Falkland’s past and finally unearths the horrible 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 makes a radical call to end the tyrannical misuses of power.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Gothic, 18th Century, Literature, Mystery, British Literature

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1794

About the author

William Godwin was the son and grandson of strait-laced Calvinist ministers. Strictly-raised, he followed in paternal footsteps, becoming a minister by age 22. His reading of atheist d'Holbach and others caused him to lose both his belief in the doctrine of eternal damnation, and his ministerial position. Through further reading, Godwin gradually became godless. He promoted anarchism (but not anarchy). His Political Justice and The Enquirer (1793) argued for morality without religion, causing a scandal. He followed that philosophical book with a trail-blazing fictional adventure-detective story, Caleb Williams (1794), to introduce readers to his ideas in a popular format. Godwin, a leading thinker and author ranking in his day close to Thomas Paine, was enormously influential among famous peers.

He and Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, secretly married in 1797. She died tragically after giving birth to daughter Mary in 1797. Godwin's loving but candid biography of his wife, Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1798), further scandalized society. Godwin, caring not only for the baby Mary, but her half-sister Fanny, remarried. He and his second wife opened a bookshop for children. Godwin, out of necessity, became a proficient author of children's books, employing a pseudonym due to his notoriety. His daughter Mary, at 16, famously ran off with poet Percy Shelley, whose Necessity of Atheism was influenced by Godwin. Mary's novel Frankenstein also paid homage to her father's views. Godwin's life was marked by poverty and further domestic tragedies. Godwin's prized manuscript attacked the Christian religion and was intended to free the mind from slavery. The Genius of Christianity Unveiled: in a Series of Essays was published only many years after his death.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent early English novel, and deserves a wider readership. It is at once a detective novel, a suspenseful tale of pursuit and escape, a psychological study of obsession, a political exploration of class, a savage indictment of English law and English prisons, and an inspiring story of tragedy and redemption. Not to mention being a big influence on his daughter's masterpiece, Frankenstein.

[Sean Barrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was intense, passionate and completely gripping. The power of the narrative is entirely enthralling. Caleb has a story to tell and he beckons you to heed his words. I’ve heeded them myself three times because this was just that good. This novel is entirely underrated on this website, and drastically overlooked. But most literature of the Romantic era tends to be outside academic studies. Such a shame, this has just as much literary merit as any Victorian novel. I sincerely recommend that you go read it. Here’s how it begins:

My life has for several years been a theatre of calamity. I have been a mark for the vigilance of tyranny, and I could not escape. My fairest prospects have been blasted. My enemy has shown himself inaccessible to entreaties, and untired in persecution. My fame, as well as my happiness, has become his victim. Every one, as far as my story has been known, has refused to assist me in my distress, and has execrated my name. I have not deserved this treatment. My own conscience witnesses in behalf of that innocence, my pretensions to which are regarded in the world as incredible. There is now, however, little hope that I shall escape from the toils that universally beset me. I am incited to the penning of these memoirs only by a desire to divert my mind from the deplorableness of my situation, and a faint idea that posterity may by their means be induced to render me a justice which my contemporaries refuse. My story will, at least, appear to have that consistency which is seldom attendant but upon truth.



Godwin displays a message, an obvious one but the display of tyranny is where the importance of this novel is at. Power resides with the upper-classes of society. This is nothing new. The rich can do what they like to the lower classes. In the early nineteenth century the powerful could exploit the legal system, and get away with their own personal transgressions whilst the working man is sacrificed for someone else’s passion. Nothing could stop them; they had the money and the reputation to control the whole legal system and wield it to their own personal advantage.

And this is exactly what Mr Falkland does to the young and impressionable Caleb. Mr Falkland is described by the narrator in very idealistic terms; he is considered as a superior being, a man of force, worth and absolute morale dignity. The young Caleb has an undying curiosity to discover what animates this man, and in doing so gain his confidence. There is a sense of hero worship in which Falkland is the object of Caleb’s admiration: “I love you more than I can express. I worship you as a being of a superior nature.” He admires this man profusely, and considers him a being of chivalry that raised him up to a respectable position within his household. He becomes his role-model. So what comes next is a real kick in the teeth.

Caleb discovers Falkland’s dark secret, his murder of a fellow member of the gentry. Curiosity defeated Caleb’s intellect. Despite warnings he continued to hound Falkland until he gave up his heart’s darkest passion. When Caleb gains the confidence of Falkland the descriptions are passionate and revealing. Caleb has an emotional reaction, one suggestive of joy taken through intimacy; he says “my blood boiled within me. I was conscious to a kind of rapture for which I could not account.” Rather than be revolted by Falkland’s deed, Caleb is pleased that he would share such an intimate thing with him, and realises “it was possible to love a murderer” because Falkland to him is the idealised man. The homoerotic language suggests how the double has become an object of desire.



Then here comes the absolutely shattering reversal. This object of desire, this double, becomes a force of domination and persecution. Falkland has an uncanny knack for appearing at the worse times. The motif of surveillance is constantly used as Caleb’s paranoia sets in; he cannot escape. Falkland observes Caleb in the garden in a haunting manner; it has suggestions of the gothic. The idolism turns into a haunting in which Caleb cannot escape from the object of his original desire. Falkland attempts to control his actions in which he remarks “you have sold yourself […] but can never share my affection.” One sided love never ends well, and Caleb becomes the victim to a man who is too afraid to let him out of his sight.

Thus, the persecution begins. This has elements of a thriller novel. The narrative drive was immense. The writing was superb in this regard. It is full of passion and energy. It is easy to judge Falkland, but his dark deed was that of an anti-hero. He murdered for justice, his wife was killed by the actions of his victim. So his one dark deed shadows over the rest of his life, which is most compelling because previously he had been nothing but a chivalrous hero. He becomes a figure for division: he is both pitiable and hateable. He is a good man corrupted by his limitless power.

The whole novel is a comment on the absurd nature of society; it is a suggestion that powerless men like Caleb are abused and sacrificed on a regular basis, in doing so the gentry can maintain their dignity and position. Moreover, it is also a suggestion of how corruptible man is. If one such as Falkland can fall, then no one is immune from the flaws of the system. We all have to answer to someone in this life; otherwise, we can do anything. This is a powerful critique of mankind; it is a remarkable novel, one that I couldn’t recommend more highly.

Postscript- It’s also quite interesting to see the effects of this on Mary Shelley, Godwin’s daughter and author of Frankenstein.

[Henry Avila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caleb Williams was from a humble family in rural England (set and written in the 1700's ) , his father a hard working shrewd farmer, with a small piece of land still young Caleb is an intelligent boy and promptly noticed by amiable Mr. Collins, the steward of a squire much loved by the locals, wealthy, respectable Ferdinando Falkland. He receives a good education needed to become Mr. Falkland's secretary, what looked like an excellent unexpected opportunity to advance in life, instead will become a hellish situation soon. The kindly bachelor gentleman treats Mr. Williams like a member of the family, naturally the affection is mutual, Mr.Falkland is like a second father living in an impressive mansion his job not very taxing, what more can be wished for? But there is another squire in the area, Barnabas Tyrrel the former leader of the gentry here, not so nice or virtuous a boisterous man, known to have a bad temper and treating inferiors like dogs, a jealous rival of Mr.Falkland greatly resentful of the new upstart craving to be again at the top of the totem pole. He doesn't have a chance, Falkland has superior manners a better education, speaks eloquently and has the appearance in his small physique, the quality of the perfect generous, genuine gentleman. Things that are sadly lacking in the giant, athletic, self- aggrandizing bully and foul -mouthed Tyrrel, at a squires meeting the intoxicated Barnabas strikes the almost helpless Mr.Falkland, down to the floor and prevented against further humiliation by the other gentry in the audience. Shortly afterwards a murder is discovered everything points to the victim of the vicious attack, harmless Mr.Falkland as the perpetrator, a man who above all else craves his good name. The inquisitive Caleb is suspicious, can the man he places in such high esteem be a vicious killer ? He unwisely starts to investigate asking not prudent questions to his weary master, following him and his biggest transgression, forcibly opening a locked mysterious trunk during a blazing fire in the house.The indiscretion is discovered and before long, the framed secretary is sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. The clever, able, resourceful, tenacious Mr.Williams breaks out and the plot begins in earnest as the fugitive tries to escape from blind justice. Suffering every conceivable terror, frequently sleeping outside with no shelter and living like a hunted animal ... being unlikely rescued by a gang of sharp thieves hidden inside a ruined edifice in a remote place, the leader Captain Raymond saves him from the evil Mr. Gines, who had brutally robbed and wounded him on the road. At the appropriate time Caleb, flees to distant London, the big town will be easy to conceal himself but he is wrong. Mr. Gines hates Williams with a great passion, now is employed by his former master to track and capture him and maybe even hanged, also who would believe his innocence? Not the notorious unfeeling courts. But the too curious Mr.Williams must continue to exist ... yet sometimes he thinks is it worth the trouble. An almost Gothic atmosphere infests the proceedings. An obscure classic still quite readable...

[Paul Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Godwin was a guy who scores a perfect 10 on the the Coolometer - anyone's Coolometer, doesn't matter what model, even ones where the batteries are low, he is going to score a 10.

Well, he was an anarchist and wrote giant attacks on the political establishment; but also, he married Mary Wollstonecraft who was a great feminist genius and wrote Vindication of the Rights of Women; and between them they had a iddle bitty baby girl who wrote Frankenstein when she was 21 - ha! - and married the famous nutjob Percy Shelley aka The Poet Shelley.

If that all wasn't enough William wrote this amazing novel Caleb Williams in 1794, so it came just two years before that other very remarkable novel The Monk by Matthew Lewis. What days they were!

Caleb Williams is a novel of pursuit and vengeance, a rip-roaring tale full of sturm and a fair sprinkling of drang too; after the first rather tiring chunk of exposition we are off and running like a greyhound out of a trap. The whole thing is to demonstrate the dreadful power of the aristocracy over their minions and there's a tang of the tumbril about what Godwin would like to have done to these cruel, unnatural and overweening tyrants.

As would we all, I trust.

[The Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting. It was about Caleb Williams, a man who was employed as a secretary for Mr Falkland. His employer was very anxious and of an agitated mind. This caused some concern to Caleb, who wanted to understand why. After lots of investigating, he soon was taken into confidence- but too late did he realize how this would affect his life.
Mr Falkland, fearing that his secret would be revealed, tried to keep Caleb forever in his service. Mr Williams decided to try to sneak away, but was brought back on charges of theft and imprisoned. After he broke out of jail and endured many different adventures, he was caught. But, Mr Falkland set him free. Only to continue to ruin Caleb's reputation anywhere he tried to establish himself. When he tried to leave the country, he was informed that he would be confined if he tried.
It ends with Caleb testifying against Mr Falkland, who by now is dying under the weight of his guilt, and at the same time praising him for his greatness. The sincerity has Mr Falkland declaring truth and righting Caleb's reputation. But, Caleb spends the rest of his life feeling guilty, as Mr Falkland died 3 days later as a result of the stress on his health.
I would recommend this book to those who like Classic Gothic Fiction. I enjoyed it.

[Issicratea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t often read eighteenth-century novels but I generally enjoy them when I do; they’re such curious hybrids, foreshadowing the modern novel in some ways, but with one foot still firmly in earlier narrative traditions, like romance and allegorical fiction. Caleb Williams has sometimes been hailed as a prototype of modern thrillers and mystery novels, and there seems some truth in that claim. It has strong elements of picaresque about it, though (self-referenced at one point, when the protagonist earns his living adapting stories from Guzman de Alfarache); also a Gothic streak (it was published in 1794, two years before Matthew Lewis’s The Monk). The strongly archetypal character of the plot, moreover—an innocent pursued by an implacable foe, clearly intended as a political allegory of oppression and abuse of aristocratic privilege—sometimes gives it a more archaic feel, like an Enlightenment The Pilgrim's Progress.

The last eighteenth-century novel I read before Caleb Williams was Samuel Richardson’s Pamela. Or, Virtue Rewarded, with which Godwin’s novel shares the basic narrative scenario of a servant cruelly victimized by his or her master. Caleb Williams is less well-written than Pamela—at points, it is positively clunky—but, on the plus side, the morality of the novel is darker and more complex, and the protagonist is less unrelentingly virtuous. Although Caleb Williams is certainly more sinned against than sinning, he brings catastrophe on himself to a certain extent through the fatal curiosity that drives him to inquire into his employer’s business (I was amused to learn after reading it that the name Caleb derives—nomen omen—from a spy in the service of Moses in the Book of Numbers). Caleb’s nemesis, Falkland, is also a light-and-shade character, in a way that complicates the novel’s morality. Neither character is 100% plausible, but that is probably an inevitable consequence of the burden of political allegory both have to bear.

I came to William Godwin, as I suspect most people do now, through an interest in his wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, and their daughter, Mary Shelley. I don’t know Godwin’s political philosophy (his great work, published the year before Caleb Williams, is Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and Its Influence on Modern Morals and Happiness). The political message of Caleb Williams is pretty clear, though, and pretty strong. The novel is a denunciation of the power wielded by the social elite of the day, and in particular of the way in which the justice system colludes in the oppression of the poor by the rich and well-connected. Five years after the French Revolution, as the forces of political reaction were gathering strength in England and radicals were coming under increasing government surveillance, this was a courageous book to write.

I guess I wanted to read Caleb Williams mainly for its historical interest, but it won me over as a narrative, as well. As I mentioned above, Godwin isn’t a thrilling prose stylist, and the novel could have done with a sharper edit. It’s also uneven. The opening is rather stodgy and the last quarter of the book meanders. There’s a hard core at the center, though—mainly in Volume II—where the novel becomes a genuine page-turner, and there was sufficient complexity to keep me engaged even in the less successful portions. The twisted, half-mirroring relationship between Falkland and Williams reminded me a little of novels like The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—a recommendation in my book.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to Ian Ousby, author of Bloodhounds of Heaven: The Detective in English Fiction from Godwin to Doyle, this book is the first in English fiction to "display a sustained interest in the theme of detection," and that the book's hero, the titular Caleb Williams, is "the first important detective in the English novel." Well-known British writer Julian Symons also noted that this book was important in the history of crime fiction, saying that it is in this novel that "The characteristic note of crime literature is first struck," and that it's "about a murder, its detection, and the unrelenting pursuit by the murderer of the person who has discovered his guilt."

Caleb Williams is also the first choice in this year's quest to read early crime fiction through the onset of World War I. It's also quite good, and while it works very well as a commentary on social injustice, class and the abuses of power, it's also a novel that finds a man on the run after uncovering some startling information.

The nutshell version is this: young Caleb Williams finds himself working as secretary for a respected local squire, Fernando Falkland. He becomes curious as to what's up with his employer, who has taken on a solitary life with "no inclination to scenes of revelry and mirth," avoiding "the busy haunts of men." After about three months of employment, Williams is accused of spying on his master, which leads him to feel "uncommon dejection and anxiety," so for help he turns to Falkland's steward Collins for answers. What he learns only increases his curiosity, and when Falkland reveals the secret he's been hiding for so long, Williams takes a vow that he will never disclose what he's learned. He also decides that it's time to move on. Unfortunately, due to the the nature of what Falkland is hiding, the squire decides that Williams must be punished for what he knows, and starts a relentless campaign of revenge and terror. The novel follows Caleb through the persecution hell that Falkland puts him through, leading Caleb to fight for his very survival in the process.

It is a wonderful novel, to be sure, and while some people may find the prose a bit slow going, once you pick up the rhythm there's a great story in here. It's most certainly a tension-ratcheting piece of work and quite frankly, I was so tempted to turn to the end to see what happens. I didn't, but the temptation was definitely there. The novel appeals to my sense of reading crime fiction with purpose, which for me is all about human nature and what it says about the factors (social, political, economic) at work that have everything to do with why people do what they do. Godwin makes this exceedinglay clear in Caleb Williams -- making it well worth the time I put into this book. It's another one that I will say is probably not for everyone, but oh my gosh -- what a great novel to kick off my reading project!!

Definitely recommended and for me, highly satisfying.

http://www.crimesegments.com/2017/02/...

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caleb Williams is part philosophical novel, part thriller and part vocabulary lesson.

Usually the book is cited as being anarchic, but it isn't directly so. It doesn't suggest an alternative to the existing government, it's not pro-capitalism or pro-syndicalism but it does hold to the most basic principles of moral anarchy which are non-violence and non-coercion. It is extremely critical of "monopolists and kings." In Godwin's own words: "law [is:] better adapted for a weapon of tyranny in the hands of the rich, than for a shield to protect the humbler part of the community against their usurpations."

His case is compelling, especially given the late 18th century England setting. The protagonist is pursued ruthlessly by a man who is able to manipulate the law based on his wealth and reputation. Caleb Williams tries every legal and social recourse to escape, but at each turn is prevailed upon by his more wealthy and influential enemy. At times, this scenario seems pretty unlikely and is possibly a little too pessimistic about the motives of government, but still, it illustrates the harrowing point rather well.

Philosophy aside, Caleb Williams is a page-turner. It doesn't move as fast as modern thrillers, William's internal dialog becomes a little tedious, but there is no lack of danger or suspense. He is the archetype of rugged manliness and never subject to moral equivocation. It's plausible that he provided Rand with some inspiration for Howard Roark.

At the end of the edition I read, there some great contemporary reviews. Some miss the philosophical point of the book entirely and only praise or criticize it on its literary merits. Most of the rest blast it to perdition for its blasphemous criticism of the English government and its lack of an explicit religious message. Even so, they all praise the writing style (some even compare him to DeFoe and Cervantes). Only William Hazlitt (tellingly, the only one of the critics whose name hasn't been relegated to obscurity today) is somewhat sympathetic to the ideas of the book.

A quotation:
"Strange that men, from age to age, should consent to hold their lives at the breath of another, merely that each in his turn may have a power of acting the tyrant according to the law! Oh, God! give me poverty! Shower upon me all the imaginary hardships of human life! I will receive them with all thankfulness. Turn me a prey to the wild beasts of the desert, so I be never again the victim of man, dressed in the gore-dripping robes of authority! Suffer me at least to call life, the pursuits of life, my own! Let me hold it at the mercy of the elements, of the hunger of the beasts, or the revenge of barbarians, but not of the cold-blooded prudence of monopolists and kings!"

[Julie]

8.0/10

This is an interesting novel that carries with it all the weight of an 18th century crime-and-punishment gothic thriller, a text on social justice, and a fair representation of Roadrunner vs Wile E. Coyote. William Godwin was a visionary of no uncommon merit!

There is much here to disentangle, and if I had time and interest enough, this would be a great novel to pull apart with its important view into 18th century social (in)justice and the human malignancy that ran like a cancer through every level of society.

Subject to every man's abuse -- from the lord of the manor, to the prisoners who waste away in the dank cells of local prisons where Caleb often finds himself -- he is representative of what happens to human beings when tyranny rules.

Your innocence shall be of no service to you, says Squire Falkland. I laugh at so feeble a defence.

(Can you not picture him twirling his mustachios, melodramatically.)

And yet, do we not find it still to be so, in our society? Godwin's novel is a push-back, and a cry, all in one, against the original sin of inequality, of human worship of power, of the inhumanity of slavery, sometimes disguised as merely servitude. When one is in perpetual service, in whatever guise, it is difficult to distinguish tyranny from liberty.

Many of these themes are delivered with hammerhead blows, as the narrator often takes you aside and lectures you, while Caleb rests awhile in the dank dirty prison; but there is also subtlety and grace here, when Godwin remembers to let the story pull itself along. In those moments, one recognizes an immensely talented writer and a superb mind.

On the down side of it all, Caleb flails and falters just a little too often for my taste that I started to envision a skewed version of Wile E Coyote vs Roadrunner: whereas the roadrunner always gets away, in this instance Caleb always gets caught. I could only suspend my disbelief to a point -- and then I would be seized with momentary urges to slap him silly. Surely, at some point, even a complete innocent from the 18th century would gather a little more sagacity; be endowed with a smidgen more "street smarts" (I'm thinking of Moll Flanders here, for whom I longed with all my heart during some of Caleb's more imbecilic moves.)

Nonetheless, warts and all, this was very enjoyable and made a pleasant diversion, and an instructive detour into 19th century Britain; and, if you are of a more serious bent than I, may even require a few hankies to get through it all.

[Tristram Shandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Things As They Argh!

William Godwin’s Things as They Are, or: The Adventures of Caleb Williams actually reminded me of Charles Brockden Brown, and that is a very ambivalent, although all in all little flattering thing to say. However, I think my comparison is justified in that there are at least three similarities between Brown’s novels and Caleb Williams.

For starters, both Brown and Williams are generally considered to be pioneers in their respective country’s literature. Whereas Brown is one of the earliest American novelists and has influenced important writers such as Poe or Hawthorne, Goodwin’s Caleb Williams has equally been of some inspiration for gothic novel writers, his own daughter Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley being amongst these. It is partly, probably, because of their status of having sparked off some major literary development that Brown and Williams are highly renowned. By the same token, one could say the Australopethicus should be given more respect because after all, if it had not been for him, none of us would be around.

Another reason why this book reminded me of Brown was that it is based on a good story and also has some real message to put across. Just as Brown’s novels not only told gothic stories but had an underlying agenda, such as criticising bigotry and religious fanaticism, or pointing out how social circumstances can shape a person’s character development, William Goodwin, too, is not really concerned with telling us an exciting story about a young man who more and more convinces himself that his master, seen as a paragon of virtue, honour and good manners by everyone else, has really committed a murder and suffered two innocent people to be executed for it, and who then is unable to hold his ground against his master’s false accusations, simply because the legal system favours the rich and influential over the likes of him. The novel is, in fact, a political treatise in the disguise of a tale – rather threadbare – and its real concern is the indictment of Goodwin’s own society as marked by inequality and tyranny. What is really impressive about the book is that not only was Goodwin right with regard to his own day and age, but that he could probably still make a point or two with regard to our times – and so the book, or rather the book’s aim, is still of social relevance.

The last similarity between Brown and Goodwin, however – ay, there’s the rub –, is that both of them are horrible, horrible, horrible writers and that their way of telling their story imposes at least as much suffering on their readers as their plots have their persecuted heroes undergo. Goodwin’s repetitive, wordy style, his tendency to use sterile hyperbole which has no emotional effect on the reader and only increases their impression that the eponymous hero is somewhat of a lachrymose busybody, is at least as cruel and painful as Mr. Falkland’s evil machinations, and one cannot help thinking that Mr. Tyrrel got off quite lightly by simply being stabbed to death – when he might have actually been made to read any attempt of Goodwin’s at writing fiction. Goodwin really has a talent of making his reader wish he had told what he had to tell without clothing his message into the guise of a story because he was no more of a story-teller than Charles Brockden Brown was. Or any representative of the Australopethicus.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd expected a novel by William Godwin to be politically charged; what I didn't expect was that it would be such a gripping and sophisticated narrative.

Caleb Williams is a young, naive and bookish man from a humble family. He is hired as a private secretary and librarian by a local country squire, Ferdinando Falkland. Falkland seems to be the best of men - a cultivated, humane, liberal and kindly man. But a shadow hangs over him - years ago, his rival, a neighbouring squire called Tyrell, a vain, cruel and tyrannical man, was found murdered shortly after an altercation with Falkland. Falkland is tried and found innocent; soon afterwards, evidence is found that the murder was done by Hawkins, a former tenant of Tyrell's, and his son. Father and son are hanged. However, reputation being such a great deal for him, Falkland is crushed by the fact that his name has been dragged into a murder investigation, and forever after becomes morose, withdrawn and moody, while retaining his benevolent side. At least, that's what an older servant tells Williams when the latter runs afoul of Falkland's more morose moods.

Williams has a severe case of hero-worship when it comes to Falkland; despite which, he has a sneaking suspicion that Falkland murdered Tyrell. What follows is a story that moves from an investigation into slumbering evil to a crazed flight from that evil, now awakened.

The rest of the novel is a tale of unrelenting suspense, but also one that is full of damning portraits of society and institutions in Godwin's times. Williams himself, in the final event, is unable to completely shake off the regard which the social structure forces him to hold his persecutor in; despite his own recriminations in the end, we are able to see that he is the victim of both individual and systemic injustices. The attitudes Godwin criticises are so deeply ingrained that Williams is even unjust to himself in the final analysis.

Political comment, social critique, an unreliable narrator and a gripping thriller-like story; Godwin accomplished many things with this novel. The only real down sides are that he tends to dilate a lot on every emotion that flits through Williams' head and his style tends towards passive reporting rather than active description. If you re-calibrate your reading sensibilities a bit, these are not major hindrances.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

And the audio version at LibriVox.

INTRODUCTION

The reputation of WILLIAM GODWIN as a social philosopher, and the merits of his famous novel, "Caleb Williams," have been for more than a century the subject of extreme divergencies of judgment among critics. "The first systematic anarchist," as he is called by Professor Saintsbury, aroused bitter contention with his writings during his own lifetime, and his opponents have remained so prejudiced that even the staid bibliographer Allibone, in his "Dictionary of English Literature," a place where one would think the most flagitious author safe from animosity, speaks of Godwin's private life in terms that are little less than scurrilous. Over against this persistent acrimony may be put the fine eulogy of Mr. C. Kegan Paul, his biographer, to represent the favourable judgment of our own time, whilst I will venture to quote one remarkable passage that voices the opinions of many among Godwin's most eminent contemporaries.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caleb Williams, also known as Things as They Are, appealed to me for two reasons. The first one is that it's considered as part of the early gothic literature. The second is that William Godwin was married to Mary Wollstonecraft and they had a daughter together, none other than Mary Shelley who wrote one of my all time favorite books.

This was honestly a good novel, although the language was sometimes a little difficult for me. It's part mystery/thriller, part political. The message in this book is very clear, which isn't a surprise since Godwin wasn't one to hide his political ideas, but in 1794 it wasn't easy to publish this. That must demand a courage that most of us didn't have (lucky us) the opportunity to find out whether we had it too or not.

Now, the writing (besides the language being sometimes a little hard for me like I mentioned) could have been better in my opinion. It was sometimes a tedious read, and to be honest this book in three volumes has only one really strong part for me (the second one). It's too bad, because I totally understand why so many people gave it four stars. I did like it and would recommend it if you're not scared of 18th classics.

[Chiara Pagliochini · Rating 1 out of 5]

« Ma la legge non ha occhi né orecchie né viscere di umanità e trasforma in marmo i cuori di coloro che sono imbevuti dei suoi principi. »

Una sola forza mi ha spinto ad arrivare in fondo a questo romanzo: la sadica soddisfazione di attribuirgli una stellina. Questa stella – davvero polare – io la ringrazio e continuo a inseguirla.
Non c’è niente di più spiacevole per un lettore che leggere (per dovere) qualcosa che lo ripugna. E “Caleb Williams”, in molti modi e momenti, mi ha ripugnato sommamente. Mi ha privato del piacere della lettura, che è il delitto più grave che un romanzo possa commettere contro il suo lettore. Per questo motivo io giudico “Caleb Williams” colpevole! e lo condanno al patibolo che tanto cerca di evitare nel corso della narrazione.

Non dico che questo romanzo non presenti spunti interessanti. In esso Godwin si interroga su diversi nodi sociali del suo tempo (e non solo): l’imparzialità nell’amministrazione della giustizia; il valore stesso di giustizia in una società per sua costituzione ingiusta, in quanto basata sul rango; la libertà di pensiero come guida principe nell’abisso dell’esistenza; l’inadeguatezza delle carceri nella riabilitazione dei detenuti; l’orrore della pena di morte. Non è un caso che “Caleb Williams” nasca come romanzo di divulgazione delle idee politiche e sociali del suo autore, una sorta di pamphlet letterario.
Queste premesse non bastano, tuttavia, a giustificare una scrittura pedante e inutilmente pomposa, prolissa, noiosa, del tutto priva di fascino. Queste premesse non bastano a giustificare la mancanza di empatia che affligge il lettore (credo anche un lettore dei più sensibili) nel corso di tutta la narrazione, incredibilmente ridondante e sterile. Uno scontrino, a volte, è più commovente. Queste premesse non bastano a giustificare un finale che contraddice in ogni punto quanto già narrato e che sembra più l’opera di uno scrittore di fan-fiction particolarmente non ispirato che di uno scrittore consapevole di sé.
Godwin era forse un brillante politico, forse un eccellente uomo. Le sue teorie, innovative per l’epoca e profondamente attuali, erano certo straordinarie. Ma non era un bravo scrittore. E questo non è un buon libro.

Colpevole!

[Sotiris Karaiskos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα μυθιστόρημα που μπορούμε να το κατατάξουμε στη γοτθική λογοτεχνία, σε μία πιο ρεαλιστική εκδοχή της, που δίνει μεγαλύτερο βάρος στην κοινωνική καταγγελία. Φυσικά κάποια καταγγελία της κοινωνικής αδικίας και των καταχρήσεων των διαφόρων μορφών εξουσίας υπήρχε και στα πιο συμβατικά έργα του είδους, αυτή η κριτική, όμως, γινόταν με το γάντι, δίνοντας το ρόλο του καταπιεστή σε αριστοκράτες μακρινών περιοχών και μακρινών εποχών. Σε αυτό το βιβλίο ο συγγραφέας προτιμάει να μιλήσει για την κατάσταση στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο της εποχής του, μεταφέροντας μας την αλήθεια για την κατάσταση που επικρατούσε σε σχέση με την αριστοκρατία της γης. Στο ρόλο του κλασικού κακού των γοτθικών μυθιστορημάτων, λοιπόν, βρίσκονται κάποιοι Άγγλοι αριστοκράτες που εκμεταλλεύονται τη δύναμη που τους δίνει η θέση τους για να επιβάλουν τη μικρότητα τους σε οποιονδήποτε θεωρούν ότι μπαίνει στο δρόμο τους. Δεν περιορίζεται, όμως, εκεί το βιβλίο, για το συγγραφέα το πρόβλημα δεν είναι κάποιοι κακοί που ίσως από κάποια γενετική προδιάθεση προχωρούν σε πράξεις απίστευτης αδικίας, είναι στην ίδια τη φύση της θέσης τους να ωθεί τους ανθρώπους στην κατάχρηση της εξουσίας, είναι δηλαδή η φύση της ίδιας της εξουσίας διαβρωτική για το χαρακτήρα. Μέσα από τις περιπέτειες του κεντρικού ήρωα ξετυλίγεται μπροστά μας το κουβάρι ενός συστήματος εκ φύσεως άνισου και άδικου που βασίζεται σε νόμους κομμένους και ραμμένους για την εξυπηρέτηση των οικονομικά ισχυρών που έχουν την αλαζονεία να πιστεύουν ότι μπορούν να κάνουν ότι θέλουν χωρίς συνέπειες, με τους κατώτερους τους να αντιδρούν απλά σκύβοντας το κεφάλι. Ο ήρωας μας αρνείται να το κάνει και πληρώνει τις συνέπειες ζώντας για χρόνια καταδιωκόμενος, αποκομμένος από την κοινωνία που αρνείται να τον πιστέψει εξαιτίας της χαμηλής κοινωνικής του θέσης σε σχέση με τον διώκτη του. Στο τέλος, όμως, αυτή η εμπειρία τον κάνει δυνατότερο και στο τέλος το βιβλίο μας μεταφέρει ένα πιο αισιόδοξο μήνυμα. Όλα αυτά σε ένα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο που είναι απορίας άξιο γιατί δεν έχει τη θέση που του αρμόζει την ιστορία της λογοτεχνίας, παρά τη τόλμη του και την ιδιαίτερη ποιότητα του.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book minutes ago.

Read this book! Read it now!

When this book was written it was the "Fugitive" of it's time.

Also, reading this book I a reminded of the story of Job.

The writing was very descriptive and picturesque. When the events in the story were happening, I felt like they were happening to me.

This book needs to be rescued from obscurity, and put on English Lit required reading lists.

[John Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a political radical, husband of Mary Wollstonecraft and father of the future Mary Shelley, the author's theme is hardly surprising: Privilege v The Rest.

A well meaning and decent prole, (CW) educated and intelligent, attempts to take on “the system”. Frighteningly, I suspect that things have changed less than we’d have hoped in the intervening 200 + years. Here we have an insight into corruption and abuse of power at all levels. Man’s base instincts then, remain just as base now, I fear.

This gothic tale is pretty compulsive reading. It’s impossible not to admire our comrade Caleb’s fortitude and determination; equally, my frustration mounted with his naivety and lack of nous .

A powerful insight into the often murky depths of human nature. At times the writing is subliminal, though wordy by today’s standards perhaps. Overall 5*

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally done reading about this man and his self pity

[Zina]

Why don't I want to give this book any stars? Not because I don't think it deserves them but because I think sometimes this star-allocating business isn't appropriate.

William Godwin wrote this book in 1794. The author is best known (now) for having been married to the feminist Mary Wollstencraft, and engendering a daughter who would elope with Shelley and then write Frankenstein. But in his time, Godwin was a famed and impassioned reformer, above all seething with anger at the law as it operated in England, a law that pretended to offer justice but which was in the pockets of the rich to manipulate as they pleased. Having written a polemic on the subject, he produced Caleb Williams - by way of illustration.

It's probably - someone will correct me, no doubt - the first psychological novel ever written in the west, maybe anywhere. He allows his characters to be perpetually questioning their motives, while through his first person narrator, he speculates on motive generally. This is also a sort of thriller, the story of a man-hunt - and, of course, highly political. In its day some criticised it as propaganda, which in certain aspects is certainly is, and Godwin clearly had no problem with that.

But from our perspective - over 200 years later, what is also fascinating is the social history that was simply the background against which Godwin placed his characters. One learns so much. One also learns how much was acceptable in novel writing then that one simply could not get away with now. It is longer than it needs to be. Caleb Williams (the narrator) manages to be inside the heads of people when they are busily engaged in thoughts and actions where he is not, and about which he therefore could not have known. But William Godwin is not worried about this either, and it would seem, nor much was anyone else.

[Katarzyna Bartoszynska · Rating 5 out of 5]

~Ugh, 2012 me was dumb. This book is amazing.

~Interesting from a literary history/theoretical perspective, but otherwise pretty dull. Caleb Williams is the story of a young servant who becomes very curious about his master's past. He ends up learning the man's dark secret, and the rest of the novel is a kind of cat-and-mouse game. Falkland, the master, is a virtuous guy, but he also doesn't want his secret to get out, and doesn't feel he can fully trust Caleb. So he can't kill him or just let him go, which means they are initially sort of chained together, making each other's lives miserable. But then Caleb attempts escape, upping the ante. An interesting premise, and the way that events play out isn't predictable - it's just kind of blah. There's a good bit of railing against the conditions of society, especially prisons and the justice system as such, which makes the novel feel both preachy and dated (though some - even most! - of its criticisms probably still apply). Perhaps the problem I had with it was the characters - the mechanics of the plot were quite interesting and well done, but the moral ambiguity of the characters actually made them kind of hard to track emotionally. Or maybe it's just that I read the book in fits and starts and didn't get into it properly. Who knows.

[Nikolai Nikiforov · Rating 5 out of 5]

At different moments, the book bears resemblance to a wide variety of other works: here it’s the clever political thriller of Graham Greene (The Power and the Glory), there it’s the adventure thriller of John Buchan (The Thirty-Nine Steps), elsewhere it’s the survivalist tale of Geoffrey Household (Rogue Male), or the late Tolstoy (Resurrection and After the Ball), then Dostoevsky, and in one version of the ending—straight-up Beckett.

And in comparison to nearly all these authors, Godwin comes out on top.

The book is fundamentally built on the thesis that political violence by the state is not merely a function of the state itself but permeates the fabric of life in all interpersonal relationships.

Remarkably, although almost every sentence in the book serves a philosophical purpose, it never feels didactic, moralizing, sentimental, or illustrative.

The combination of spontaneous psychological impact with a rationally organized philosophical narrative observed here feels, to me, utterly unprecedented—only Conrad at his finest moments could be placed alongside it.

Godwin’s political convictions, as far as I understand, were quite firm and well-defined, yet the ending doesn’t lead to any specific conclusions; in the moral confrontation, he refuses to name winners—a further testament to his belonging to the lineage of artists rather than illustrators.

I’d venture to explain Godwin’s relatively marginal position in the literary canon by suggesting that the canon simply fears admitting such a bold and powerful book, whose presence makes the fragility and timidity of established canonical works all the more apparent.

—

Книга в разные моменты имеет сходство с самыми разными другими книгами: тут умный политический триллер Грэма Грина (The Power and the Glory), тут приключенческий триллер Джона Бучана (The Thirty-Nine Steps), тут "выживательный" Джеффри Хаусхолд (Rogue Male), тут поздний Толстой ("Воскресенье" и "После бала"), тут Достоевский, в одном из вариантов концовки — прямо-таки Беккет.
И в сравнении практически со всеми этими авторами Годвин выигрывает.
Книга, в принципе, построена на тезисе, что политическое насилие государства не есть функция только самого государства, но проникает в жизненную ткань во всех межчеловеческих отношениях.
Удивительным образом, хотя практически каждая фраза в книге подчинена философскому замыслу, в ней нигде не чувствуешь дидактизма, морализаторства, сентиментальности, иллюстративности и т.д.
То сочетание спонтанного психологического эффекта с рациональной философской организацией повествования, которое здесь наблюдается — совершенно, по моим ощущениям, беспрецедентно, только Конрада в лучшие его моменты можно поставить рядом.
Политические убеждения Годвина были, насколько понимаю, вполне определенные и твердые, но при этом концовка ни к каким определенным выводам не подводит, в моральном столкновении он отказывается называть победителей — что есть еще одно подтверждение того, что он писатель, относящийся к роду художников, а не иллюстраторов.
Сравнительную маргинальность положения Годвина в литературном каноне я бы рискнул объяснить тем, что канон просто опасается в себя принимать настолько смелую и сильную книгу, от соседства которой шаткость и робость признанных канонических сочинений делается более очевидной.

[Jason Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief summary, which actually gives away less than Godwin's own preface: Caleb Williams is a young man from a poor background, self-educated and with a lively mind. Squire Falkland employs him as his secretary, and Caleb learns the troubled history of his much-admired master's bitter feud with a neighbour, which ended disastrously. Compelled by a fatal curiosity, Caleb pursues the secrets of this conflict. This wins him the enmity of Mr Falkland and Caleb finds himself persecuted to the limit of his endurance, unable to escape the long reach of this rich and highly intelligent man.

Just as Godwin was parent to Mary Shelley, so this novel is parent to her "Frankenstein": each is a moral investigation built around a titanic, relentless confrontation between two men in each other's power; essays must have been written on the comparisons. But where the arena of "Frankenstein" is the universe itself, "Caleb Williams" is more concerned with man's role in society. Squire Falkland is willing to sacrifice everything for his social reputation, while Caleb is ground down beneath a legal system that is a catspaw of the rich, and the unquestioning condemnation of his peers. Godwin argues for natural justice and natural rights (I hope I don't misuse philosophers' jargon!), and rails against the inequity of his contemporary society.

But even these matters are secondary to the central conflict. As is often the case in 'classic' novels, there is heavy reliance on coincidence, to the extent that I found myself chuckling each time Mr Falkland made another of his 'unexpected' entrances; and surely nobody ever spoke whole paragraphs of dialogue with such care and eloquence (unless it was Christopher Hitchens). But these are trivial caveats: it is the compelling struggle between two obsessed men driving each other to the edge of madness that makes this enduring and subversive novel not only memorable, but thrilling.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Famous for being the first ever Gothic novel, Godwin (fathe rof Mary Shelley) was a political activist in the late 1700s who was concerned about the manipulation and mistreatment of the poor and the corruption of the rich - he used the suspense of the Gothic novel to intensify the call for change he wanted to see. The story centers around the false accusation of Caleb by his employer Falkland (the corrupted rich) who is hiding a dark secret and hot on Caleb's heels as he flees for freedom and fights for his innocence.

[DeAnna Knippling · Rating 3 out of 5]

A secretary discovers his master's crimes and goes on the run when the master tries to destroy him for it.

I'm making this sound a lot more exciting that it was, because the book comes from the era of All the Grandstanding Speeches and Laborious Explanations, but the bones of stories like The Prisoner or The Fugitive are laid down here. Some decent detective work, too, as well as many good variations on the theme of injustice. An early building block of a particular line of story. As a writer, I didn't regret reading it. But as a reader, I skimmed.

[Kelly Rosalyn Moore · Rating 1 out of 5]

it’s so bad, I wanna give you a 0, but that’s not possible, so I give you a 1
- dnf lol

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

in terms of books written around this period, this novel was one of the best ive read so far. it dragged a bit and repeated events frequently, but each volume had redeeming qualities.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caleb Williams is a gothic novel about consequence and how it differs according to class. Godwin, being the immaculate writer he is, was able to turn his Enquiry Concerning Political Justice into a thrilling novel that captured the attention of people worldwide. In his philosophical attempt to define a mainstream oppression in fiction, he promted the interest of individuals and society, enabling a spark in revolution.

William Godwin exemplified the views he portrayed in Political Justice through the protagonist in his fictional masterpiece Caleb Williams. To many it’s known as Things As They Are; or The Adventures of Caleb Williams. Although many critics have reviewed both writings and have a difference of opinion on whether or not the two are directly co-related, Godwin’s portrayal of characters Caleb Williams and his ‘master’ Falkland are undoubtedly colorful representations of the flawed hierarchal system of his time. Williams is a self-educated, intelligent and curious servant, who after discovering the dark secret of his master, is haunted, threatened and finally framed for capital crime, making him a fugitive of the law. The plot represents dark and evil nobleman, Falkland, as the typical upper-class exercising hereditary power using his political position in order to impose fear on his servant, who he considers to be significantly beneath him. Godwin is far from shy when personifying the evil righteousness that sovereigns feel entitled to. In Volume II, Chapter VIII Falkland exclaims; “... I wear an armour against which all your weapons are impotent. ... Your innocence shall be of no service to you; I laugh at so feeble a defence. It is I that say it; you may believe what I tell you. - Do you not know, miserable wretch! […] that I have sworn to preserve my reputation, whatever may be the expense; that I love it more than the whole world and its inhabitants taken together? And do you think that you shall wound it? Begone, miscreant! reptile! and cease to contend with insurmountable power!” This statement is one of the many degrading interactions between Falkland and Williams.
Reiterating his point from Political Justice of knowledge being the key to higher, happier and a more desirable civilization, Godwin gives Caleb Williams a powerful voice that allows him to question and communicate his opinion of the corrupt society, much like the man who created him. Caleb believes in reason and in justice, which government should consider as key attributes in an individual, but since he holds an imminent status he is oppressed. Although the novel is seen as fictional, it highlights a destructive political institution dedicated to maintaining the wealthy and ‘shhhh-ing’ the poor. It is Godwins call to revolution, explained by Williams in Volume III Chapter I; " ... Strange that men from age to age should consent to hold their lives at the breath of another, merely that each in his turn may have a power of acting the tyrant according to the law. Oh God! give me poverty! shower upon me all the the imaginary hardships of human life! I will receive them all with thankfulness. Turn me a prey to the wild beasts of the desert, so I be never again the victim of man, dressed in the gore dripping-robes of authority! Suffer me at least to call life and pursuits of life my own! Let me hold it to the mercy of the elements, of the hunger of beasts, or the revenge of barbarians, but not of the cold-blooded prudence of monopolists and kings! - ... "

In Political Justice he argues that it is within our human nature to be good, and to be innately superior from our former self without comparison to or restriction from our neighbor, while still remaining conscious that our validity and knowledge is of our own discretion and through our own terms. And as members of the human race we shall do on others as we wish to be done as individuals in society.

Oh Godwin, you revolutionary beast.
Not a MUSTREAD but definitely a different book if your up for some adventure.

[Arukiyomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Godwin’s tale of the persecution of the poor by the rich is a socialist polemic that is a product of the influence of the French Revolution on English society. It’s a very readable narrative for sure with plenty to keep the pages turning, but as a comment on society and morality, I’m not sure Godwin was that successful.

Caleb Williams finds himself party to a secret about his wealthy employer which, after being sworn to secrecy, turns into a curse. Mr. Falkland, said employer, turns against anc pursues Caleb throughout the British Isles. With little or no resources to resist, Caleb easily falls prey to penury and imprisonment as a result.

Although there are plenty of of polemics against the oppression of the poor by the rich, the narrative seemed a flawed vehicle for it to me. Firstly, I’m not at all clear why Falkland decided so relentlessly to persecute a man who could very easily have blackmailed him or at least spread details of his secret far and wide. Even when Caleb seems to be completely harmless, he comes after him.

Near the end of the novel, this reality seems to become apparent to the author, and a scene of confession with a judge which Caleb hopes will free him from a further prison backfires. Predictably, the judge refuses to believe that an odious vagrant would be telling the truth in bringing such a scandalous claim against a bastion of society such as Falkland.

There’s some truth here undoubtedly, but I found Caleb’s character over-humble and unrealistic to me. A real person would have attempted to use this information to their advantage much earlier in the narrative. And after he has confessed the secret, Caleb is racked with remorse that he has broken his promise to Falkland. In the final confrontation with his persecutor, the man who has falsely imprisoned him and reduced him to beggary, Caleb simpers and whines about how pathetic an example of the human race he is because he was not true to his master.

At this point, Godwin seems to have completely undone the novel. For if Caleb’s crime is truly evil, then Falkland’s must also be so and both stand equally condemned. Instead, Godwin barely comments on Falkland’s misdeeds, preferring to leave him appearing finally as a wrinkled, wizened victim of his own bitterness as if this were punishment enough.

Readable, but flawed, though an important book for its time as it created a storm of debate on its publication.

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 4 out of 5]

After picking it up because of the Shelley/Woolstonecraft connection this sat on my shelves unread for 20 years, until I read an LRB article about it that said Hazlitt claimed nobody who started Caleb Williams ever put it down. This wasn't *quite* true but it's pretty rollicking stuff, a twisty thriller doubling as a total unashamedly didactic top-to-bottom portrait of the corruption of late 18th century England.

[Nadine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, let's keep this as short as this book should have been: this story is way too long for so little action which makes this book horrible to read. I had to put this book down several times just to say 'ugh'. Also, there's barely any character development and Caleb is annoying and Mr. Falkland is just creepy. The anticlimatic ending didn't make it any better.