Scope and arrangement
The Mary Jane Godwin manuscript material is arranged in two series:
The Mary Jane Godwin manuscript material in the New York Public Library's Pforzheimer Collection consists of correspondence and related archival material. The bulk of the correspondence is from the 1830s. Correspondents include: Laman Blanchard, author and journalist; Aaron Burr, third Vice President of the United States; Mary Hays, novelist, and over half a dozen others. Related archival material includes a 1938 official copy of M. J. Godwin's death certificate, and copies in the hand of Claire Clairmont of what may be letters written by M. J. Godwin.
Mary Jane Godwin, formerly Clairmont, née de Vial, English translator and bookseller. She was the second wife of the philosopher and novelist William Godwin, and together they ran the M. J. Godwin and Co. Juvenile Library bookshop and imprint. Her daughter was Claire Clairmont, mother of Lord Byron's child, Allegra; her stepdaughter was Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.
The Mary Jane Godwin manuscript material is arranged in two series:
Finding aid compiled by Charles Cuykendall Carter. Last updated April 2024.