Percy Shelley Popular Books
Percy Shelley Biography & Facts
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( BISH; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was a British writer who is considered as one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achievements in poetry grew steadily following his death, and he became an important influence on subsequent generations of poets, including Robert Browning, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Thomas Hardy, and W. B. Yeats. American literary critic Harold Bloom describes him as "a superb craftsman, a lyric poet without rival, and surely one of the most advanced sceptical intellects ever to write a poem." Shelley's reputation fluctuated during the 20th century, but in recent decades he has achieved increasing critical acclaim for the sweeping momentum of his poetic imagery, his mastery of genres and verse forms, and the complex interplay of sceptical, idealist, and materialist ideas in his work. Among his best-known works are "Ozymandias" (1818), "Ode to the West Wind" (1819), "To a Skylark" (1820), "Adonais" (1821), the philosophical essay "The Necessity of Atheism" (1811), which his friend T. J. Hogg may have co-authored, and the political ballad "The Mask of Anarchy" (1819). His other major works include the verse dramas The Cenci (1819), Prometheus Unbound (1820) and Hellas (1822), and the long narrative poems Alastor, or The Spirit of Solitude (1815), Julian and Maddalo (1819), Adonais (1821), and The Triumph of Life (1822). Shelley also wrote prose fiction and a quantity of essays on political, social, and philosophical issues. Much of this poetry and prose was not published in his lifetime, or only published in expurgated form, due to the risk of prosecution for political and religious libel. From the 1820s, his poems and political and ethical writings became popular in Owenist, Chartist, and radical political circles, and later drew admirers as diverse as Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi, and George Bernard Shaw. Shelley's life was marked by family crises, ill health, and a backlash against his atheism, political views, and defiance of social conventions. He went into permanent self-exile in Italy in 1818 and over the next four years produced what Zachary Leader and Michael O'Neill call "some of the finest poetry of the Romantic period". His second wife, Mary Shelley, was the author of Frankenstein. He died in a boating accident in 1822 at age 29. Life Early life and education Shelley was born on 4 August 1792 at Field Place, Warnham, Sussex, England. He was the eldest son of Sir Timothy Shelley (1753–1844), a Whig Member of Parliament for Horsham from 1790 to 1792 and for Shoreham between 1806 and 1812, and his wife, Elizabeth Pilfold (1763–1846), the daughter of a successful butcher. He had four younger sisters and one much younger brother. Shelley's early childhood was sheltered and mostly happy. He was particularly close to his sisters and his mother, who encouraged him to hunt, fish and ride. At age six, he was sent to a day school run by the vicar of Warnham church, where he displayed an impressive memory and gift for languages. In 1802 he entered the Syon House Academy of Brentford, Middlesex, where his cousin Thomas Medwin was a pupil. Shelley was bullied and unhappy at the school and sometimes responded with violent rage. He also began suffering from the nightmares, hallucinations and sleep walking that were to periodically affect him throughout his life. Shelley developed an interest in science which supplemented his voracious reading of tales of mystery, romance and the supernatural. During his holidays at Field Place, his sisters were often terrified at being subjected to his experiments with gunpowder, acids and electricity. Back at school he blew up a paling fence with gunpowder. In 1804, Shelley entered Eton College, a period which he later recalled with loathing. He was subjected to particularly severe mob bullying which the perpetrators called "Shelley-baits". A number of biographers and contemporaries have attributed the bullying to Shelley's aloofness, nonconformity and refusal to take part in fagging. His peculiarities and violent rages earned him the nickname "Mad Shelley". His interest in the occult and science continued, and contemporaries describe him giving an electric shock to a master, blowing up a tree stump with gunpowder and attempting to raise spirits with occult rituals. In his senior years, Shelley came under the influence of a part-time teacher, Dr James Lind, who encouraged his interest in the occult and introduced him to liberal and radical authors. Shelley also developed an interest in Plato and idealist philosophy which he pursued in later years through self-study. According to Richard Holmes, Shelley, by his leaving year, had gained a reputation as a classical scholar and a tolerated eccentric. In his last term at Eton, his first novel Zastrozzi appeared and he had established a following among his fellow pupils. Prior to enrolling for University College, Oxford, in October 1810, Shelley completed Original Poetry by Victor and Cazire (written with his sister Elizabeth), the verse melodrama The Wandering Jew and the gothic novel St. Irvine; or, The Rosicrucian: A Romance (published 1811). At Oxford Shelley attended few lectures, instead spending long hours reading and conducting scientific experiments in the laboratory he set up in his room. He met a fellow student, Thomas Jefferson Hogg, who became his closest friend. Shelley became increasingly politicised under Hogg's influence, developing strong radical and anti-Christian views. Such views were dangerous in the reactionary political climate prevailing during Britain's war with Napoleonic France, and Shelley's father warned him against Hogg's influence. In the winter of 1810–1811, Shelley published a series of anonymous political poems and tracts: Posthumous Fragments of Margaret Nicholson, The Necessity of Atheism (written in collaboration with Hogg) and A Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things. Shelley mailed The Necessity of Atheism to all the bishops and heads of colleges at Oxford, and he was called to appear before the college's fellows, including the Dean, George Rowley. His refusal to answer questions put by college authorities regarding whether or not he authored the pamphlet resulted in his expulsion from Oxford on 25 March 1811, along with Hogg. Hearing of his son's expulsion, Shelley's father threatened to cut all contact with Shelley unless he agreed to return home and study under tutors appointed by him. Shelley's refusal to do so led to a falling-out with his father. Marriage to Harriet Westbrook In late December 1810, Shelley had met Harriet Westbrook, a pupil at the same boarding school as Shelley's sisters. They corresponded frequently that winter and also after Shelley had been expelled from Oxford. Shelley expounded his radical ideas on politics, religion and marriage .... Discover the Percy Shelley popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Percy Shelley books.
Best Seller Percy Shelley Books of 2024
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Notes to the Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Mary ShelleyNotes to the Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe (1839) is a remarkable collection by the romantic poet, Shelley, who wrote more than a thousand pages of poetry over his career...
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50 Greatest Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was born in 1792 at Horsham. He was amongst the second generation of Romantic Poets, and is widely associated with other poets Keats and Byron. Shelley then on...
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Percy Bysshe Shelley as a Philosopher and Reformer
Charles SotheranPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is regarded by critics as amongst the finest lyric poets in the English language. A radical in his poetry as w...
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The Poet and the Vampyre
Andrew McConnell StottIn the spring of 1816, Lord Byron was the greatest poet of his generation and the most famous man in Britain, but his personal life was about to erupt. Fleeing his celebrity, notor...
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Shelley - Volume 1 - Percy Shelley
Daniel Casanave & VandermeulenBorn into an aristocratic family, Percy Bysshe Shelley has no intentions of following in his father's political footsteps. The rebellious young poet finds himself drawn to more sca...
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Anecdote Biography of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe ShelleyThis biography uses real anecdotes from the life of Percy Bysshe Shelley to tell the story of the famous poet. It contains scattered revelations and personal insights that cannot b...
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Percy Bysshe Shelley
John Addington SymondsPercy Bysshe Shelley (4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is regarded by critics as amongst the finest lyric poets in the English language....
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The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. The text newly collated and revised and edited with a memoir and notes by G. E. Woodberry. Centenary edition. Volume I
Percy Bysshe Shelley & George Edward. WoodberryThe POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging ...
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The Collaborative Literary Relationship of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Anna MercerHow did Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, two of the most iconic and celebrated authors of the Romantic Period, contribute to each other’s achievements? This bo...
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Fantasmagoriana - Selected Tales of the Dead
Johann August Apel, Friedrich August Schulze & Johann Karl August Musäuseartnow presents to you the meticulously edited collection of "Fantasmagoriana – Selected Tales of the Dead." These were the very ghost stories that inspired and gave rise ...
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Collection of English Poetry
William Blake, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, G. G. Lord Byron, John Keats, William Shakespeare, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Wordsworth & W. B. YeatsTable of Contents:William BlakeElizabeth Barrett BrowningRobert BrowningG. G. Lord ByronJohn KeatsWilliam ShakespearePercy Bysshe ShelleyAlfred Lord TennysonWilliam WordsworthW. B....
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The Golden Treasury
Francis Turner PalgraveThe Golden Treasury is one of the most loved anthologies of English poetry ever published. The book was meticulously compiled by poet and scholar Francis Turner Palgrave, in collab...
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The Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Edited by Mrs. Shelley. A new edition.
Percy Bysshe Shelley & Mary ShelleyThe POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging ...
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Rest in Pieces
Bess LovejoyA “marvelously macabre” (Kirkus Reviews) history of the bizarre afterlives of corpses of the celebrated and notorious dead.For some of the most influential figures in history, deat...
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In Search of Mary Shelley
Fiona SampsonWe know the facts of Mary Shelley’s life in some detailthe death of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, within days of her birth; the upbringing in the house of her father, William Go...
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The Complete Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe ShelleyThis carefully crafted ebook collection is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: The Daemon of the World Alastor: or, the Spirit of Solitude....
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The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Edited by Mrs. Shelley.
Percy Shelley & Mary ShelleyThe POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging ...
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The Year Without Summer
Guinevere GlasfurdLONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT HISTORICAL FICTION PRIZE 2021SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA GOLD CROWN AWARD 2020'A STRIKINGLY SHARP AND SUBTLE WRITER' Guardian'SUPERB...BEAUTIFULLY WRITT...
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Masks Of Anarchy
Michael Demson & Summer McclintonMasks of Anarchy tells the extraordinary story of Percy Shelley’s poem “The Masque of Anarchy,” from its conception in Italy and suppression in England to the moment it became a ca...
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Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe ShelleyThe Delphi Poets Series offers readers the works of literature's finest poets, with superior formatting. This volume presents the complete works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, with beaut...
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The Original Frankenstein
Mary ShelleyWorking from the earliest surviving draft of Frankenstein, Charles E. Robinson presents two versions of the classic novelas Mary Shelley originally wrote it and a subsequent vers...
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The King and the Catholics
Antonia FraserIn the eighteenth century, the Catholics of England lacked many basic freedoms under the law: they could not serve in political office, buy or inherit land, or be married by the ri...
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Young Romantics
Daisy HayYoung Romantics tells the story of the interlinked lives of the young English Romantic poets from an entirely fresh perspectivecelebrating their extreme youth and outsize yearning ...
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The Gilded Chalet
Padraig RooneyPart detective work, part treasure chest, full of history and scandal, The Gilded Chalet takes you on a grand tour of two centuries of great writing by both Swiss and foreign autho...
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The Collected Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe ShelleyThis comprehensive eBook presents the complete works or all the significant works the Œuvre of this famous and brilliant writer in one ebook easytoread and easytonavigate: The ...
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The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe ShelleyGathers all of the nineteenthcentury poet's works, including "Queen Mab," "The Cenci," "Alastor," and "Prometheus Unbound"
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The Complete Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley endures today as the great Promethean bard of the High Romantic period who is best remembered for extolling the sublime and affirming the possibility of transc...
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Death and the Sisters
Heather RedmondThe tangled relationships between Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Mary’s stepsister Jane Clairmont form the backdrop for an intriguing historical m...