People who believe this also believe that Wollstonecraft was as reviled during her lifetime as she became after the publication of William Godwin 's Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman ( 1798 ) . Although it is commonly assumed now that the Rights of Woman was unfavourably received , this is a modern misconception based on the belief that Wollstonecraft was as reviled during her lifetime as she became after the publication of William Godwin 's Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman ( 1798 ) .