Gilbert Imlay

Who was Gilbert Imlay?

Gilbert Imlay was an American businessman, author, and diplomat. Imlay was known in his day as a shrewd but unscrupulous businessman involved in land speculation in Kentucky. He later served in the U.S. embassy to France and became one of the earliest American writers, producing two books, the influential A Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America, and a novel, The Emigrants, both of which promoted settlement in the North American interior. However, he is best known today for his brief relationship with British feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, which resulted in the birth of a daughter, Fanny Imlay.