In addition to the definitive UVA text of Browns seminal novel, this edition includes an introduction setting the work in its historical, literary, and intellectual contexts. Selections from William Godwins Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793), Erasmus Darwins Zoonomia; or,The Laws of Organic Life (1794), Benjamin Franklins A Narrative of the Late Massacres (1764), and Thomas Bartons The conduct of the Paxton-men (1764) are included here, as are several of Browns lesser-known but revealing writings on such subjects as somnambulism and the uses of history in fiction.
