On the 12th Percy Florence was born, and Mary did no more writing until March, when she was working on _Valperga_.

It is probable, therefore, that Mary wrote and copied _Mathilda_ between August 5 and September 12, 1819, that she did some revision on November 8 and finally dated the manuscript November 9.
The subsequent history of the manuscript is recorded in letters and journals.

When the Gisbornes went to England on May 2, 1820, they took _Mathilda_ with them; they read it on the journey and recorded their admiration of it in their journal.[vi] They were to show it to Godwin and get his advice about publishing it.

Although Medwin heard about the story when he was with the Shelleys in 1820[vii] and Mary read it--perhaps from the rough draft--to Edward and Jane Williams in the summer of 1821,[viii] this manuscript apparently stayed in Godwin's hands.

He evidently did not share the Gisbornes' enthusiasm: his approval was qualified.