Author Description

"This is the first book-length biography of the American Gilbert Imlay (c. 1754-c. 1828), Revolutionary War veteran, land-jobber, travel-writer, novelist, entrepreneur, agent provocateur - and infamous lover of Mary Wollstonecraft. The book concerns an Imlay little known to those working in Romantic studies, so includes a reconstruction of Imlay's early life in New Jersey; an account of his activities as a land speculator; the intriguing relations he had with a spate of historical characters; and his involvement with the Girondist government's plans to launch a revolt in the Western Territory against the United States to destabilize Spanish rule in Louisiana. Previously undocumented details of Imlay's participation in the transatlantic slave trade are also included." "Much of the text is based on original documentary souces (including unknown letters), gathered from a variety of rare book and manuscript collections. It will be of interest to scholars of Romanticism, politics, biography and book historians."--BOOK JACKET.