Helen Maria Williams

Frontispiece illustration of Helen Maria Williams, stipple engraving, 1816.

Helen Maria Williams (c.1761-1827)

Helen Maria Williams was Britain's most widely-read eyewitness to the French Revolution. In addition to her exploits as a British novelist, poet, and translator of French-works, she gained a reputation for her politics and personal conduct.

Williams was a controversial figure. She was a religious dissenter and abolitionist. People criticized her for traveling to France unaccompanied and for engaging in scandalous relationships with men. Her support for the ideals of the French Revolution also led to trouble. During the Reign of Terror, Williams was imprisoned for aligning with the Girondins. Despite this, she spent much of the rest of her life in France.

The following text is taken from: Williams, Helen Maria. Letters written in France in the summer 1790 to a friend in England: containing various anecdotes relative to the French Revolution and memoirs of Mons. and Madame du F-----. 4th ed. 4 vols. London: T. Cadell, 1794. SPCN. 944.04 W723L

Title page for Letters from France, Vol 3.

SPCN. 944.04 W723L

Dumourier's Correspondence with the Commissaries, Dec. 10, 1792.

SPCN. 944.04 W723L