William Godwin: his Friends and Contemporaries
Ch. V. 1802-1803
Thomas Holcroft to William Godwin, 20 March 1802
“I have seen Madame de
Stael, and she has promised me her novel, volume by volume, but she is
anxious to be well translated, and asks more questions than I can answer
concerning the former translations of Mr
Marshal. I dare not cite the Ruins, because
Volney complains much of his English
dress. Recapitulate to me what Mr Marshal has translated.
. . . I hope that the Marmot, and the voyage dans le Crimée with their bringer are all safe, of
which I am anxious to hear.
James Marshall (d. 1832)
Translator and literary jobber; he was a schoolmate and bosom friend of William Godwin, a
drinking companion of Charles Lamb, and associate of Mary Shelley.
Germaine de Staël (1766-1817)
French woman of letters; author of the novel
Corinne, ou L'Italie
(1807) and
De l'Allemagne (1811); banned from Paris by Napoleon, she
spent her later years living in Germany, Britain, and Switzerland.
Constantin François, comte de Volney (1757-1820)
Oriental traveler, historian and member of the Académie française. He wrote
Les Ruines, ou méditations sur les révolutions des empires
(1791).
