ABSTRACT
British radicals in the 1790's were inspired by the American and French Revolutions, but often took the question of reform to be a matter of social and cultural politics as much as rights. For many British radicals in the 1790s, there was an immediate practical aspect to these questions. Large numbers of them were driven to America by the threat of imprisonment or worse under Pitt's Terror. After the French Revolution, Merry's poetry had become increasingly political, and he had dropped the Della Cruscan identity in The Laurel of Liberty (1790). Godwin's diary shows that Merry remained in touch with radical intellectual circles in London and Norwich right up until his departure for America. His papers also reveal his shock and disappointment at Merry's decision to leave for America: she cannot endure to think that a man, whom she regard as an honour & ornament to his country, should thus go into voluntary banishment.
