This book explores the influence of Enlightenment and Romantic-era
theories of the mind on the writings of Godwin and Shelley and examines
the ways in which these writers use their fiction to explore such
psychological phenomena as ruling passions, madness, the therapeutic
value of confessions (both spoken and written), and the significance of
dreams. Unlike most studies of Godwin and Shelley, it does not privilege
their masterworks-for the most part, it focuses on their lesser-known
writings. Brewer also considers the works of other Romantic-era writers,
as well as the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophical and
medical theories that informed Godwin's and Shelley's presentations of
mental states and types of behavior.