• Name: Robinson, George
• Gender: Male
• Birth Date: December  1736
• Death Date: 6  June  1801
• Occupation: bookseller

The publisher with whom Godwin was closely associated, first in relation to his work on the New Annual Register, and subsequently, in obtaining an advance of maony while he wrote An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice between 1791 and 1793. Robinson was part of a large publishing family - see the DNB entry for 'Robinson family'. However, we have used this code for George Robinson, where there is a Robinson with no added initial until his death in 1801. Godwin records George Robinson's death on 6 June 1801. Other members of the publishing house are coded collectively under Robinson. They were successful trading booksellers and publishers in England, in the following succession: Robinson and Roberts (1764–76); George Robinson (1776–84); George, George, John, and James Robinson (1784–93); George, George, and John Robinson (1794–1801); George and John Robinson (1802–6); George Robinson (1806–13); George and Samuel Robinson (1814–17); and Samuel Robinson (1818–30) (DNB). Because of the difficulty in distinguishing the George and John senior(s) and junior(s), J, G, Geo, and other variations, they have been amalgamated under Robinson in this entry. This is not ideal as George Robinson Sr. and Godwin were probably well acquainted, but oddly Godwin very infrequently distinguishes him with a first initial or abbreviation. In an 1824 entry, Godwin establishes Jno Robinson as the grandson of Geo Robinson. Many of the Robinson entries include monetary exchanges, accounts, and proposals for books.

There are also a number of different identifiable Robinsons in the diary. These include:

Joshua Robinson and family. Mary Shelley became friendly with the Robinson family sometime after her return to England in 1823. Joshua Robinson (1776-1842) was apparently a widower who had at least six daughters: Isabel (who became mrs Sholto Douglas, see Douglas entry), Rosa, Louisa, Julia, Ellen, and Elise Agnes. He also had a number of sons and grandsons whom Mary Shelley knew less well. They included George, Julian (at Cambridge with Percy Florence), Alfred, and Charles. The family are associated with residence at Park Cottage, Paddington. All Robinsons 1801-1824 are taken to be referring to the publishing family as this is prior to Mary Shelley's - and, it is assumed, Godwin's - acquaintance with this other Robinson family. As the nature of the calls change from the more commercial 'call on' to 'dines at' at this period, it is deemed relatively easy to distinguish between the contacts with both families.

Henry Crabb Robinson (1775–1867), diarist and journalist appears (usually as H Robinson) over 250 times in Godwin’s diary. The two became intimate around 1810, although they had been acquainted before. See the 1810 entry in the Diary of Crabb Robinson: ‘I remained all the spring and summer in London, with the exception of making short journeys; and spent my time at Collier’s, keeping up with my old visiting acquaintances and making new. I became more intimate with Godwin, who was keeping a bookseller’s shop in his wife’s name. I now and then saw interesting persons at his house; indeed, I saw none but remarkable persons there. Among the most remarkable was the great Irish orator, Curran. His talk was rich in idiom and imagery, and in warmth of feeling’.

A comparison between diaries (including lists of persons at dinner parties) also supports the identification of H Robinson as Henry Crabb. For example, 18 November 1810 Crabb notes, 'At Godwin’s with Northcote, Coleridge, and c. Coleridge made himself very merry at the expense of Fuseli, whom he always called Fuzzle or Fuzly.' and Godwin records, 'Coleridge, Northcote, 2 Dawes, 3 Fenwicks, H Robinson & T T dine'.
Other instances of Crabb's contact with Godwin include 22 October 1810: 'Called on Godwin. Curran, the Master of the Rolls of Ireland, was with him'. And 26 January 1812: ' A dinner-party. Coleridge, Godwin, and c., and c. The company rather too numerous. Coleridge by no means the eloquent man he usually is...'

Mary 'Perdita' Robinson was a renowned actress and was the mistress of the Prince of Wales for several months in 1870. She famously played Perdita in The Winter’s Tale and the name stuck. and who had been the mistress of the Prince of Wales.
Mary Robinson first appears, as Mrs Robinson, on 9 February 1796: 'tea mrs Robinson's , w. Twiss and Tarleton'. There are several more mentions that year – Godwin always separates Robinson from Mrs. R, and she appears several times with Tarleton (sometimes abbreviated as 'Tn') with whom she had a long-running affair that finished in 1797. She also appears with 'C', who is probably Thomas Cooper. It seems that after Godwin and Mary Robinson establish a level of intimacy, she becomes ‘M Robinson’. In the addendum to the 1796 volume of the diary, Godwin confirms his meeting with ‘Mrs. Robinson’. Mentions of Mary Robinson cease after her death and funeral in 1800. Godwin records her death on 26 December 1800.
Godwin also meets Mary Elizabeth Robinson, the daughter of 'Perdita'.

Anthony Robinson (1762–1827), sugar refiner and writer, is indicated as either ‘Ant’ or ‘A’. According to the DNB, he lived an active literary life and was acquainted with John Towill Rutt and Henry Crabb Robinson (of no relation), and was subsequently introduced to William Hazlitt and the Lambs.Godwin writes to him on the subject of Malthus and population. He records his death in 1827.

Robinsons left uncoded include P and Pol Robinson in 1788 and 1789; Frederick Robinson in 1823; Mrs Robinson in 1811; Robinson Barr in 1797; Robinson Irish Barrister in 1794; and Robinson surgeon 1805.

• DNB.
• The journals of Mary Shelley, 1814–1844, ed. by Paula R. Feldman and Diana Scott-Kilvert, 2 vols (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press; Clarendon Press, 1987).
• St Clair.
• The Diary of Henry Crabb Robinson, ed. by Edith J. Morley, 3 vols (London: J.M. Dent and Sons, 1938).

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