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The Executioner
First appeared in Blackwood's, February 1832.
- GenresShort Stories
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1832
About the author
William Godwin
555 books202 followersWilliam Godwin was the son and grandson of strait-laced Calvinist ministers. Strictly-raised, he followed in paternal footsteps, becoming a minister by age 22. His reading of atheist d'Holbach and others caused him to lose both his belief in the doctrine of eternal damnation, and his ministerial position. Through further reading, Godwin gradually became godless. He promoted anarchism (but not anarchy). His Political Justice and The Enquirer (1793) argued for morality without religion, causing a scandal. He followed that philosophical book with a trail-blazing fictional adventure-detective story, Caleb Williams (1794), to introduce readers to his ideas in a popular format. Godwin, a leading thinker and author ranking in his day close to Thomas Paine, was enormously influential among famous peers.
He and Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, secretly married in 1797. She died tragically after giving birth to daughter Mary in 1797. Godwin's loving but candid biography of his wife, Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1798), further scandalized society. Godwin, caring not only for the baby Mary, but her half-sister Fanny, remarried. He and his second wife opened a bookshop for children. Godwin, out of necessity, became a proficient author of children's books, employing a pseudonym due to his notoriety. His daughter Mary, at 16, famously ran off with poet Percy Shelley, whose Necessity of Atheism was influenced by Godwin. Mary's novel Frankenstein also paid homage to her father's views. Godwin's life was marked by poverty and further domestic tragedies. Godwin's prized manuscript attacked the Christian religion and was intended to free the mind from slavery. The Genius of Christianity Unveiled: in a Series of Essays was published only many years after his death.
He and Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, secretly married in 1797. She died tragically after giving birth to daughter Mary in 1797. Godwin's loving but candid biography of his wife, Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1798), further scandalized society. Godwin, caring not only for the baby Mary, but her half-sister Fanny, remarried. He and his second wife opened a bookshop for children. Godwin, out of necessity, became a proficient author of children's books, employing a pseudonym due to his notoriety. His daughter Mary, at 16, famously ran off with poet Percy Shelley, whose Necessity of Atheism was influenced by Godwin. Mary's novel Frankenstein also paid homage to her father's views. Godwin's life was marked by poverty and further domestic tragedies. Godwin's prized manuscript attacked the Christian religion and was intended to free the mind from slavery. The Genius of Christianity Unveiled: in a Series of Essays was published only many years after his death.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 14, 2026
A perfect read for the spooky season from the collection of Penny Dreadfuls! “The Executioner” is an excellent novella of revenge gone wrong, the evils and goodness of humanity, deceit, murder, and the sacrifice of an innocent hangman to save a young boy framed for murder.
Poor Ambrose is abandoned by his father Lockwood for months on end in the care of an old crone. This unfortunate woman passes away, leaving the young boy quite alone in the decrepit forest cottage. He has no choice but to escape the ill-fated abode as her corpse begins to rot and the stench is grossly overwhelming.
Ambrose must travel to nearby towns for food and shelter, filled with the idyllic images of his hope in the kind charity of people, only to be unceremoniously shunned as a lazy, good-for-nothing vagrant. He is brutally turned away, and his perfect perception of people is equally destroyed, save for a young man who offers a small crust of bread from his own meager sustenance. Ambrose’s faith in humanity temporarily restored, he stumbles upon his father, Lockwood, in a prison and becomes his unwitting accomplice in an intricate tale of revenge in order to please and be loved by the man who abandoned him.
Ambrose agrees to be a detested hangman solely at the behest of his father, believing that afterwards, they would live happily ever after. Ambrose, though, becomes quickly disillusioned, and especially as the heartbreaking truths that underlie the plot of his father’s thirst for vengeance are revealed.
Godwin, who also happens to be Mary Shelley’s father (Frankenstein!) weaves a wonderfully brutal story of bitter irony, unparalleled grief, a tortured conscience, and merciful sacrifice - a great tale to read next to a cozy fire in the dark of night!
Poor Ambrose is abandoned by his father Lockwood for months on end in the care of an old crone. This unfortunate woman passes away, leaving the young boy quite alone in the decrepit forest cottage. He has no choice but to escape the ill-fated abode as her corpse begins to rot and the stench is grossly overwhelming.
Ambrose must travel to nearby towns for food and shelter, filled with the idyllic images of his hope in the kind charity of people, only to be unceremoniously shunned as a lazy, good-for-nothing vagrant. He is brutally turned away, and his perfect perception of people is equally destroyed, save for a young man who offers a small crust of bread from his own meager sustenance. Ambrose’s faith in humanity temporarily restored, he stumbles upon his father, Lockwood, in a prison and becomes his unwitting accomplice in an intricate tale of revenge in order to please and be loved by the man who abandoned him.
Ambrose agrees to be a detested hangman solely at the behest of his father, believing that afterwards, they would live happily ever after. Ambrose, though, becomes quickly disillusioned, and especially as the heartbreaking truths that underlie the plot of his father’s thirst for vengeance are revealed.
Godwin, who also happens to be Mary Shelley’s father (Frankenstein!) weaves a wonderfully brutal story of bitter irony, unparalleled grief, a tortured conscience, and merciful sacrifice - a great tale to read next to a cozy fire in the dark of night!
February 26, 2020
Although the story was pretty much predictable, I enjoyed reading it. It is a story of vengeance and deception and I could not help but to think of the whispers of Satan as I was reading it. I found the descriptions of how something could both be a foe and a friend and how someone could be a foe in the guise of a friend to be interesting.
August 26, 2022
The writing is exquisite but the plot is ghastly. William Godwin, the author, was the father of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein. It looks like a talent for writing horror stories ran in the family.
August 9, 2020
This one has a decent story and writing style. I'm not sure I really liked it all that much, but the story concept is definitely cool. I've definitely seen this gambit used in other stories before with alternative characters and reasons. I can see how this has affected stories historically since.
September 8, 2022
A Story of a Executioner and His Horrible Parental Figure.
I liked it.
I liked it.
March 25, 2025
Beautiful miserable
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews