• Name: Reynolds, Richard
• Gender: Male
• Birth Date:
• Death Date:

'R Reynolds' first appears in 1800 and for the first five entries (including one to 'RR'), 1800-10, he is always in the company of Frederick Reynolds. Although it is possible Godwin meets Richard Reynolds, (1735–1816), ironmaster and philanthropist, we have no evidence to support this. It seems more likely that 'R Reynolds' is Frederick's brother Richard, a barrister, mentioned in Frederick's autobiography. 'R Reynolds' is thus coded for Richard throughout. The difficulty is distinguishing contact with Richard Reynolds senr from his nephew Richard Reynolds junr, younger son of Frederick Reynolds, after 1828. The use of 'RR' (between 1827 and 1836), when Godwin has begun using 'FR' for the younger Frederick Reynolds, suggests that these entries refer to the brother of the younger Reynolds.

• DNB.
• The Life and Times of Frederick Reynolds, written by himself (London, 1826).

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.

• Name: Reynolds, Frederick
• Gender: Male
• Birth Date: 1  November  1764
• Death Date: 16  April  1841
• Occupation: playwright

The Reynolds so far identified and coded are:
> Joshua (1723-1792)
> Frederick (1764-1841) - this entry
> Richard (c1760) brother of Frederick
Elizabeth (d 1848), wife of Frederick
Richard (c1805 - ??), son of Frederick
Frederick Jnr (1800/1-1850), son of Frederick
Samuel William (1773-1835)

According to the 1796 list, Godwin first meets Frederick Reynolds, playwright, in 1796 (although, in his autobiography, Reynolds records meeting Godwin in 1795). He first appears in the diary on 13 February 1796 at the house of Elizabeth Mansel, an actress, whom Reynolds later married. There is correspondence between Godwin and Frederick Reynolds regarding the appropriate payment for a play. Reynolds also attended the performance of Antonio and discussed it with Lamb afterwards. In a letter from November 1800 written to the theatre manager putting on Antonio, Godwin mentions having received advice from Mr Reynolds as to the financial arrangements for a play at that theatre - and refers to Reynolds 'comedy of the Will'. It is clear that the two men were intimate and from 1796 'Reynolds' has been taken to refer to Frederick Reynolds.

There are two examples of Reynolds prior to 1796:
8 May 1788: 'Dinner at Cadel's on Gibbon's birth day and day of publication, Sheffield, Fullaston, Reynolds, Gillies, Kippis.'
Given the social context, this has been taken as a reference to Joshua Reynolds, artist. It is not clear whether Godwin attends this dinner or not but it seems unlikely that he did: he does not record meeting Joshua Reynolds in his 1796 list and there is no evidence from biography or letters that the two men were acquainted ( see Derek Hudson, Sir Joshua Reynolds: A Personal Study; Frederick Whiley Hilles (ed), Letters of Sir Joshua Reynolds ; James Northcote, Life of Sir Joshua Reynolds, vol II ); the mention of the dinner appears in smaller writing and looks to have been added in after he wrote the original part of the day's entry yet if Godwin had attended the dinner he surely would have noted it immediately given his propensity for social climbing; futhermore, the entry reads 'dinner at' rather than 'dine at', his usual way of noting meals.
23 November 1793: 'Play, World in a Village, w. Holcroft and mrs Inchbald: see Reynolds.'
This is possibly a most suggestive entry as, if it is Frederick Reynolds, it intimates that, more generally, 'see X' does not mean meeting them in any way. Godwin states that he doesn't meet Frederick Reynolds until 1796 so he cannot have had a physical encounter with him on this date. However, Reynolds, whose plays had achieved some success at this stage, may well have been pointed out to him by Elizabeth Inchbald and Thomas Holcroft from across the theatre. Alternatively, this may be a different Reynolds entirely.

'R Reynolds' first appears in 1800 and for the first five entries (including one to 'RR'), 1800-10, he is always in the company of Frederick Reynolds. Although it is possible Godwin meets Richard Reynolds, (1735–1816), ironmaster and philanthropist, we have no evidence to support this. It seems more likely that 'R Reynolds' is Frederick's brother Richard, a barrister, mentioned in Frederick's autobiography. 'R Reynolds' is thus coded for Richard throughout. The difficulty is distinguishing contact with Richard Reynolds senr from his nephew Richard Reynolds junr, younger son of Frederick Reynolds, after 1828. The use of 'RR' (between 1827 and 1836), when Godwin has begun using 'FR' for the younger Frederick Reynolds, suggests that these entries refer to the brother of the younger Reynolds. Godwin does raise further questions when, in 1831, he start using 'FMR' for Frederick Junr. but there is little to suggest that we should read 'FR' entries prior or subsequent to this as referring to the father. Subsequent entries that certainly refer to Frederick senr using plain Reynolds, suggest that the move to 'FMR'(for Frederick junr) is temporary and of no significance.

Entries for F and R Reynolds have accordingly been coded for Frederick Snr and Richard Senr, until the mid 1820s, when the pattern of interaction seems to change.

Entries for 'Reynolds's' have been taken to include Frederick (senr) and Elizabeth. These are plentiful between 1799 and 1802, but decline dramatically thereafter, possibly as a result of the arrival of children. This style of entry seems to disappear for a number of years, when contact generally falls dramatically. Above all, there are no suppers at Reynolds, when Godwin had been a very regular visitor at this time. Note also the 2-year hiatus between 1807 and 1809. The 'two Reynoldses' entry in 1809 is taken to be husband and wife. The pattern of contact diminishes further in the 1810s with most contacts being adv's at the Theatre, in the case of Reynolds, or with more direct contact with Mrs Reynolds. However, in 1825 and thereafter, contact resumes with great frequency, similar to that of the 1790s.

In the Abinger Papers there is a letter from Frederick Reynolds that is catalogued as from F. M. Reynolds. However, there is simply insufficient evidence to confirm the attribution, and the reference to Mrs Reynolds in the letter suggests it might be Frederick Reynolds senr.

The entry for Reynolds solr on 26 August 1835 is uncoded on the grounds that this seems to identify a wholly different Reynolds.

• MS. Abinger c. 17, fol. 108: 27 November 1800.
• MS. Abinger c. 15, fols. 69-70: n.d.
• DNB.
• The Life and Times of Frederick Reynolds, written by himself (London, 1826).

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.