Caleb Williams; Or, Things as They Are

Caleb Williams, a clever, curious young man of humble birth, becomes secretary to Ferdinando Falkland, a refined and generous country gentleman admired by everyone, who is nevertheless haunted by a secret sorrow. Caleb's curiosity leads him to uncover Falkland's terrible secret, and from that moment Falkland, using his wealth and the law, pursues him across England, framing him as a thief and hounding him through prisons and disguises.

William Godwin (1756–1836), the radical philosopher who married Mary Wollstonecraft and was the father of Mary Shelley, published the novel in 1794 to show how the laws and power of the rich crush the poor. It is often called one of the first crime thrillers. Read Frankenstein, by his daughter.