Publisher's Synopsis
Caleb Williams Things as They Are By William Godwin With an introduction by Ernest A. Baker Things as They Are; or The Adventures of Caleb Williams (often abbreviated to Caleb Williams) (1794) by William Godwin is a three-volume novel written as a call to end the abuse of power by what Godwin saw as a tyrannical government. Intended as a popularisation of the ideas presented in his 1793 treatise Political Justice Godwin uses Caleb Williams to show how legal and other institutions can and do destroy individuals, even when the people the justice system touches are innocent of any crime. This reality, in Godwin's mind, was therefore a description of "things as they are." The original manuscript included a preface that was removed from publication, because its content alarmed booksellers of the time. Caleb Williams, a poor, self-educated, orphaned young man, and the novel's first-person narrator, is recommended a job on the estate of the wealthy Ferdinando Falkland. Although Falkland is generally a reserved and quiet master, he also has sudden fits of rage. Concerned about his outbursts, Caleb asks Mr Collins, administrator of Falkland's estate, if he knows the cause of Falkland's odd temper. Collins proceeds to tell of Falkland's past, citing Falkland's long history of stressing reason over bloodshed. Falkland's neighbour, Barnabas Tyrrel, was a tyrannical master who oppressed and manipulated his tenants. Tyrrel became the enemy and competitor of Falkland, who was loved for his brave and generous demeanor. Falkland continually righted the many wrongs Tyrrel caused members of his household and his neighbours, which only elevated the community's respect and esteem for Falkland. The conflict between the two men came to a head when, at the funeral services for Emily Melvile Tyrrel's niece whom he had unfairly arrested out of his jealousy of her admiration for Falkland Tyrrel physically attacked Falkland. Tyrrel himself was found murdered shortly afterward. Although immediately considered a suspect for Tyrrel's murder, Falkland defended himself on the basis of his stainless reputation. Instead, two tenants of Tyrrel were found with incriminating evidence, convicted of the murder, and both hanged. Falkland's emotional state, Mr Collins explains, has been wavering ever since."