ABSTRACT
Thanks largely to the enlarged mind of publisher Joseph Johnson, who welcomed all voices of all religions of all political persuasions and of both genders, Wollstonecraft found a niche in history that was unique not just because she was a woman but because she had ideas that were revolutionary. Like a skilled violinist or flutist, she was given a place in an orchestra of like-minded musicians to play her instrument to a sold-out audience. The audience was not always receptive to her and her ensemble’s music, but it listened nevertheless. This chapter considers the famous thinkers and shakers at the end of the eighteenth century who formed the coterie that exchanged ideas with Wollstonecraft.
