GODWIN, William (1756-1836). Things as they are: or, the Adventures of Caleb Williams. Philadelphia: for H. and P. Rice, 1795.

First American edition of an anti-government crime novel by the father of Mary Shelley. A plausible contender for the first detective novel pubished in America. The plot centers around the efforts of the working-class hero to prove his master's guilt in a murder case. The original preface was deemed too radical for publication and thus excised. The novel expresses the ideas of William Godwin's 1793 Political Justice, the first modern work on anarchism. Evans 28752.

Three parts in two volumes, 12mo (167 x 101mm). No half-titles and without slip in some copies (some spotting and toning, small closed tear to one leaf). Near contemporary citron half morocco over marbled boards (worn, flyleaves excised, erased address stamps to free endpapers, removed bookplates).