St. Leon: A Tale of the Sixteenth Century
St Leon (1799), Godwin's second novel, is a work of challenging ambition. Like his first, Caleb Williams (1794), it is a confessional tale of obsession and spiralling pursuit. In St Leon the emphasis is on the individual's powerlessness in the face of momentous historical change. Set during the Protestant Reformation, St Leon tells the harrowing tale of an exiled French aristocrat who is given the secrets of the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life. His attempts to use these gifts to benefit humanity lead only to disaster. Plunged into self-destructive isolation, he wanders through the centres of European religious controversy, arousing fascination, suspicion, and social unrest wherever he goes. The text of this first paperback edition is based on the 'Bentley's Standard Novels' edition of 1831.
- Author
- William Godwin, William D. Brewer
- Format
- paperback
- Pages
- 508
- Publisher
- Broadview Press Inc
- Language
- english
- ISBN
- 9781551115382
- Genres
- gothic, fiction, romanticism, classics
- Release date
- 2006
- Search 9781551115382 on Amazon
- Search 9781551115382 on Goodreads