Lacking any formal training in grammar and style as she did, Mary claimed that Godwin's insistence on syntactical accuracy and traditional rhethorical devices had led him to value form over matter – always a mistake, she said. Since truly creative writers derive their force from Nature, their work must always be a little rough, a little raw (like hers). But this rough material has a strength and integrity that renders it superior to magnificently structures philosophical tractates such as [Godwin's] Political Justice. Mary was advocating for a far more democratic order than Godwin was prepared to accept; she wanted to open the door for more people like herself to join the ranks of writers. An author did not have to be educated at an elite school to properly express his or her ideas, she said. All that was necessary was a good imagination.

— Romantic Outlaws,  Charlotte Gordon