Letter to Ruth Barlow

Letter to Ruth Barlow

Abolitionist and feminist Helen Maria Williams was an important participant in the revolutionary discourse of the late eighteenth century, alongside Mary Wollstonecraft and Thomas Paine. In 1790, Williams joined a group of British radicals residing in Paris and hosted a salon that attracted leading revolutionaries. Like Paine, Williams provided aid for fellow republican radicals. In August 1798, she wrote to her American expatriate friend Ruth Barlow. Williams hoped that Ruth’s husband, the diplomat Joel Barlow, would assist James Wollstonecraft (Mary’s brother), who was then in prison in Paris as a suspected spy. The letter notes Paine’s ineffective efforts on James’ behalf.

Williams, Helen Maria

Helen Maria Williams Letters

1798

22 August 1798

Helen Maria Williams — abolitionist and political radical

U

29

1700s