{"id":6967,"date":"2019-07-09T19:14:56","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T19:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/infed.org\/mobi\/?p=6967"},"modified":"2025-08-14T15:07:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T14:07:00","slug":"william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/","title":{"rendered":"William Godwin and the children&#8217;s bookshop"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-377\" src=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons.jpg\" alt=\"william godwin - wikimedia commons\" width=\"923\" height=\"1180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons.jpg 316w, https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons-234x300.jpg 234w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Writer of an anarchist classic and a believer in free education.<\/h2>\n<p><b> William Godwin, Hanway Street, 191 The Strand and 27 The Polygon<\/b>. Godwin (1756 &#8211; 1836) was the first writer \u2018to give a clear statement of anarchist principles\u2019 (Marshall 1993: 191). He was one of the first English-language writers to recognize the threat of state-controlled education and to set out the qualities of an alternative, free, education. Today he is perhaps best remembered as the husband of Mary Wollstonecraft (who wrote the feminist classic: <i>A Vindication of the Rights of Woman -1792),<\/i> the father of Mary Shelley (the author of <i> Frankenstein <\/i>&#8211; 1818) and the father-in-law of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (who was influenced by his radical libertarianism).<\/p>\n<p>He gained a great deal of fame (and some notoriety) at the time of the French Revolution through his philosophical work (most notably <i>An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice<\/i> 1793) and his novels (especially <i>The Adventures of Caleb Williams <\/i>1794). His educational thinking was distinguished by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"style124\">A respect for the child\u2019s autonomy which precluded any form of coercion.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"style124\">A pedagogy that respected this and sought to build on the child\u2019s own motivation and initiatives.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"style124\">A concern about the child\u2019s capacity to resist an ideology transmitted through the school.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>He gradually became a rather forgotten figure &#8211; although he continued to write. After Mary Wollstonecraft\u2019s death Godwin married again &#8211; Mary Jane Clairmont, a neighbour. Together they set up a Juvenile Library in Hanway Street in 1805. They produced a series of pioneering children\u2019s books &#8211; some by Godwin, many by other writers and published from the shop in Hanway Street. Later they were to move the business to Holborn &#8211; but they were continually beset by financial problems &#8211; and the debts rose.<\/p>\n<p>He died in 1836 and was buried, at his request, next to Mary Wollstonecraft.<\/p>\n<p>For a fuller discussion visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/william-godwin-on-education\/\"><strong> William Godwin on education<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"right\">\u00a9 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/markksmith.net\/\"> Mark K. Smith<\/a><\/strong>. First published August 7, 1997.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Writer of an anarchist classic and a believer in free education. William Godwin, Hanway Street, 191 The Strand and 27 The Polygon. Godwin (1756 &#8211; 1836) was the first writer \u2018to give a clear statement of anarchist principles\u2019 (Marshall 1993: 191). He was one of the first English-language writers to recognize the threat of state-controlled &#8230; <a title=\"William Godwin and the children&#8217;s bookshop\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about William Godwin and the children&#8217;s bookshop\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30014,"parent":0,"menu_order":171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"class_list":["post-6967","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>William Godwin and the children&#039;s bookshop - infed.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"William Godwin and the children&#039;s bookshop - infed.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Writer of an anarchist classic and a believer in free education. William Godwin, Hanway Street, 191 The Strand and 27 The Polygon. Godwin (1756 &#8211; 1836) was the first writer \u2018to give a clear statement of anarchist principles\u2019 (Marshall 1993: 191). He was one of the first English-language writers to recognize the threat of state-controlled ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"infed.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-14T14:07:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons_1200.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1269\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"758\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\\\/\",\"name\":\"William Godwin and the children's bookshop - infed.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons_1200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-09T19:14:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-14T14:07:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons_1200.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons_1200.jpg\",\"width\":1269,\"height\":758},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"William Godwin and the children&#8217;s bookshop\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/\",\"name\":\"infed.org\",\"description\":\"exploring education, pedagogy and community action\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"William Godwin and the children's bookshop - infed.org","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"William Godwin and the children's bookshop - infed.org","og_description":"Writer of an anarchist classic and a believer in free education. William Godwin, Hanway Street, 191 The Strand and 27 The Polygon. Godwin (1756 &#8211; 1836) was the first writer \u2018to give a clear statement of anarchist principles\u2019 (Marshall 1993: 191). He was one of the first English-language writers to recognize the threat of state-controlled ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/","og_site_name":"infed.org","article_modified_time":"2025-08-14T14:07:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1269,"height":758,"url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons_1200.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/","url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/","name":"William Godwin and the children's bookshop - infed.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons_1200.jpg","datePublished":"2019-07-09T19:14:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-14T14:07:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons_1200.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/william_godwin_wikipedia_commons_1200.jpg","width":1269,"height":758},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/william-godwin-and-the-childrens-bookshop\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"William Godwin and the children&#8217;s bookshop"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/#website","url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/","name":"infed.org","description":"exploring education, pedagogy and community action","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}