Percy Bysshe Shelley Books

In his short life (1792-1822) Percy Bysshe Shelley created a wide range of poetry marked by eloquence, sensuality, and imagination. This small book, Shelley - Lyrical Visionary, offers a small, well-selected sampling of some 20 shorter poems and extracts from eight longer poems. There are no footnotes.

Example shorter poems include Lines Written on Hearing the News of the Death of Napoleon, A Summer-Evening Churchyard, To Wordsworth, Hymn to Intellectual Beauty, To the Lord Chancellor, Ozymandias, The Woodman and the Nightingale, Ode to The Westwind, Autumn, and Ode to Liberty.

The eight extracts come from Queen Mab, The Revolt of Islam, Prometheus Unbound, The Cloud, To a Skylark, Adonais, Epipschydion, and Sonnets from the Greek of Moschus.

What distinguishes this anthology, Shelley - Lyrical Visionary, is the accompanying rich illustrations that complement and enhance the individual poems. The reproductions are high quality and printed on glossy white and tinted pages. This book, as does others in this Illustrated Poetry Anthology series, makes an ideal gift. (The list price is too expensive. I have found these books at much lower prices.)

Consideration: This particular volume may be more suitable for readers already familiar with the English Romantics. In my experience Shelley's lyrics are not as immediately accessible as the poetry of Keats, Wordsworth, Byron, and Coleridge, and may even be intimidating. As an alternative, I recommend another book in this series: Keats - Truth and Imagination. (I am biased; Keats is my favorite poet, but I do believe that the poetry of Keats is somewhat easier for many readers.)

hi sir please send to me review to Shelley's Major Verse : The Narrative and Dramatic Poetry book by Stuart M. Sperry im waiting you Ali Bintameem

Recent scholarship has destroyed the 19th century fiction that Shelley was an effiminate "ineffectual angel". The conventional portrait remains, however, that of an erratic, idealistic boy. Ivan Roe examines a new Shelley, the mature poet of the Italian years, grouping his studies of his life and poetry round the taut drama of the last two months of Shelley's life, here given in detailed narrative for the first time in English.
The author brings to this period an informed and evocative tragedy, drawn from several recent travels in Italy. The background of Italian and English history, drawn largely from previously unpublished State papers, gives a new dimension to the conflicts of the poet's life. The influence of Petrach, much more powerful than was hitherto suspected, is brought out in a special study of Shelley's reading of this poet.
Concerning the two great mysteries of Shelley's life, the author presents a study of Julian and Maddalo with suggestions as to its possible bearing on the "winter of desolation" (1818-19) in the poet's second marriage; Mr. Roe also advances a fresh line of research on the identity of the poet's Neapolitan "daughter", Elena Adelaide.
Illustrations of P.B. Shelley: Posthumous Painting by Joseph Severn, Casa Magni: in the 19th century and today, Val di Magra, Lerici, La Spezia, Page from a Shelley notebook, Lerici from Casa Magni, Carrara.

What a great book! It is intelligent, scholarly, obviously well-thought out, and interesting. I've always been a fan of Byron, and didn't realize how much his friendship with Shelley influenced his poetry. This book got me interested in Shelley's poetry, too, and he is now one of my favorites. I loved it.

St. Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian, a Romance, was published in 1811, the second Gothic novel by Percy Bysshe Shelley, a follow-up to Zastrozzi, a Romance (1810). There was a chapbook version of the novel called Wolfstein; or, The Mysterious Bandit published circa 1815 by J. Bailey in London. In 1822, the book was republished by the original publisher, J.J. Stockdale.

St. Irvyne is an unfairly overlooked Gothic horror masterpiece. Percy Buysshe Shelley explored many of the themes he would later develop more fully. St. Irvyne is an important and classic book in Gothic Romanticism.

Who or what is St. Irvyne? It is a castle in France where Eloise de St. Irvyne, Wolfstein's sister, lived. The Rosicrucian is Ginotti, also known as Frederic Nempere. A Rosicrucian, of The Rose Cross Order, was a member of a medieval sect or secret society that sought to find the secret to immortality. Ginotti is a Rosicrucian who wishes to impart the secret of immortality to Wolfstein, the main character. The theme of the novel is a quest to unveil "the latent mysteries of nature", to find the secret or meaning of life, and thereby, to achieve immortality, to live forever.

The origin of the novel comes from a book by a German physician, Dr. Johann Heinrich Cohausen, Hermippus Redivivus: or, The Sage's Triumph over Old Age and the Grave (1742). Cohausen was the real-life Dr. Frankenstein. He inspired William Godwin's book St. Leon (1799), which in turn influenced St. Irvyne and Frankenstein. Godwin was the father of Mary Shelley, and Percy Bysshe Shelley was her husband. Hermippus Redivivus, St. Leon, St. Irvyne, and Frankenstein thus share a common genesis or origin in Cohausen.

Cohausen was a German physician, satirist, and scientist who claimed to have found the secret to immortality, the way to potentially live forever. He based his claims on experiments that purported to show that salts in the human breath had restorative qualities that were the key to long life and to immortality. He had found the secret to life. Could man unveil "the latent mysteries of nature"? Like Prometheus, he would free mankind from death by giving men "eternal existence", immortality. This is the theme of St. Irvyne.

The novel opens with Wolfstein, the main character, trapped in a thunderstorm in the Alps near Geneva, Switzerland, the same locale for the later Frankenstein. He is a distraught wanderer who is disillusioned with life. He seeks to kill himself. He says that God creates nothing in vain, but he can find no purpose or meaning for his life. He is rescued by monks who are carrying a body for burial in a torch-light procession.

Bandits attack them. Wolfstein decides to join the bandits and goes to their underground cave hideout or cavern. The bandits kidnap Megalena de Metastasio and kill her father, an Italian Count. Megalena is taken captive by the bandits. The leader of the bandits, Cavigni, seeks to marry her. Agnes is a woman who is a servant to the bandits.

Wolfstein poisons Cavigni in his second attempt and escapes with Megalena to Genoa. Ginotti, a mysterious character who helps them escape, will later follow and stalk them.

In Genoa, Olympia makes advances on Wolfstein. In a jealous rage, Megalena demands that Wolfstein kill her to prove his love and fidelity. Olympia commits suicide after Wolfstein is unable to stab her with a dagger. Wolfstein and Megalena then flee.

In the meantime, Ginotti follows them to Genoa.

Ginotti then seduces the distraught Eloise de St. Irvyne, the sister of Wolfstein, who is vulnerable after the death of her ill mother in Geneva.

Ginotti is an alchemist of the Rose Cross sect, who seeks to give to Wolfstein the scientific formula for immortality or eternal existence, the secret of life. Since youth, Ginotti has sought to unveil "the latent mysteries of nature".

The theme of the novel is man's quest to ascertain the mysteries of life. Man seeks to be God. Man seeks to lift the veil of the secret of life. Inexorably, disaster, ruin, and tragedy result. Man oversteps the bounds of nature and falls to his doom. The novel foreshadows Frankenstein, which Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the preface for and contributed to. John Lauritsen has even attempted to show that Percy Bysshe Shelley actually wtote the novel in The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein (2007). The themes of both novels are related and are similar.

The Kessinger version of St. Irvyne is a excellent format for the novel. This overlooked Gothic masterpiece is highly recommended.

Can man unlock the secrets of life? Can man achieve immortality? And what are the costs? What are the consequences? These are the questions and themes of St. Irvyne.

St. Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian, a Gothic horror novel that Percy Bysshe Shelley published in 1811, has a similar and related theme to Frankenstein. Can man find the secret to life? In St. Irvyne, the alchemist and Rosicrucian Ginotti has "a desire of unveiling the latent mysteries of nature". The novel was republished in The Romancist in 1840 and the 1880 and 1888 Percy Bysshe Shelley prose collections.

St. Irvyne, and William Godwin's St. Leon: A Tale of the Sixteenth Century (1799) and Frankenstein, are based on a real-life German physician and scientist, Dr. Johann Heinrich Cohausen, who claimed to have found the secret to immortality in Hermippus Redivivus; or, The Sage's Triumph over Old Age and the Grave (1742).

The main character of St. Irvyne is Wolfstein, a solitary wanderer, who like the Being in Frankenstein, seeks friendship and a meaning for his existence. Both Wolfstein and Frankenstein are obsessed with solitude and are involved in a quest for meaning and human companionship. Wolfstein asks why he was created by the Creator. God creates nothing in vain. But Wolfstein can find no meaning for his creation. Wolfstein wanders the Swiss Alps near Geneva, the scene of the later Frankenstein. He is rescued by monks who prevent his attempted suicide. Bandits then attack them. Wolfstein joins the banditti and goes to their cavern hideout. The bandits rob and kill an Italian count and abduct his daughter Megalena de Metastasio. Agnes is a woman who is part of the banditti. Steindolph reads a horro tale about the reanimation of the corpse of a nun. Cavigni plans to marry megalena which Wolfstein opposes. Wolfstein poisons the leader of the bandits, Cavigni. Wolfstein declines to be the new leader of the bandits. Instead, Ardolph is chosen leader. Wolfstein escapes with the help of Ginotti. Megalena de Metastasio also escapes and befriends Wolfstein. They flee to Genoa followed by Ginotti.

Ginotti is a Rosicrucian, a member of the Rose Cross Order, a medieval sect that sought through science, by chemistry or alchemy, to find the secret to eternal existence, immortality. This idea is based on the experiments conducted by Paracelsus, Sanctorius, the Belgian Rosicrucian Jan van Helmont, and by Johann Cohausen, who claimed to have found the secret to long life in Hermippus Redivivus. Volatile salts contained in the human breath were alleged to enable human life to be extended indefinitely.

Ginotti seduces Wolfstein's sister, Eloise de St. Irvyne, who wrongly believes that Wolfstein is dead. St. Irvyne is the name of a castle in France. Ginotti then will impart the secret to immortality to Wolfstein if he becomes a Rosicrucian himself and denies God. Ginotti asks: "Wolfstein, dost thou deny thy Creator?" Tragedy and horror result when man seeks to unveil the secrets of life and of nature.

St. Irvyne has uncanny and striking similarities to Frankenstein in both theme and in style. Both novels take place in the Swiss Alps around Geneva, where Percy Bysshe Shelley later lived. Both of the names of the main characters, Wolfstein and Frankenstein, are based on the names of German cities, Wolfstein, Germany and Frankenstein, Germany. Both novels have scientists who want to find the secret to eternal existence or immortality.

The alchemist in St. Irvyne asks: "Why may not human minds unveil the dim mists of futurity?" He determines that it is "possible to protract existence", to ensure "endless existence" and "eternal life". Ginotti reveals that "during the course of my philosophical inquiries, I ascertained the method by which man might exist for ever."

Wolfstein, Ginotti, Zastrozzi, Matilda, and the Being in Frankenstein have no compunction about committing murder. Wolfstein murders Cavigni and planned to murder Olympia in cold-blooded, pre-meditated murder. Ginotti related how he murdered a fellow student with pre-meditation and in cold blood. The Being in Frankenstein, likewise, commits murders without any compunction.

The influence of John Milton is pervasive on both novels. Both novels have epigraphs from John Milton's Paradise Lost, as does Zastrozzi. Even the cadences and literary styles are similar in both novels. In Frankenstein, the Being says: "I will glut the maw of death." In St. Irvyne, the narrator says: "...glut itself with hellish pleasure..." John Milton did not use "glut" as a verb, but Percy Bysshe Shelley did. Milton used "glut" as a noun. It is like Percy Bysshe Shelley left his fingerprints. The Being in Frankenstein, moreover, speaks in Shelleyan cadences that are a hallmark of St. Irvyne and the earlier Zastrozzi. How uncanny is that? Like Percy Shelley himself, the Being in Frankenstein has admired and adopted the style of John Milton, a poet, not a novelist. It is as if the Being's diction coach and language teacher was Percy Bysshe Shelley.

In both novels, the "pride", "vanity", and "malice" of man in seeking to become a God lead to disaster and tragedy. In an early poem, Shelley wrote: "I dare not unveil the shadows that float o'er eternity's vale." In St. Irvyne, the narrator admonished: "[L]et endless life be sought from Him...the God whom thou hast insulted." Unveiling the secrets of life and death is a "delusion of the passions", in both novels, reflecting the vanity of man and resulting in disaster and ruin and death.

Reading St. Irvyne reveals uncanny similarities to Frankenstein. St. Irvyne is available in several editions and is highly recommended. The Broadview Press edition also includes the rare chapbook Wolfstein; or, The Mysterious Bandit, a reduction of the St. Irvyne novel published in London by J. Bailey, circa 1815.

It is not disputed that Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the original 1818 preface to the novel and he contributed at the very least 4,000 words to Frankenstein. He corrected the manuscript, made changes, made additions, rewrote parts, and changed passages. This is not in dispute. The only question is: How substantial was his contribution, and does it rise to the level where he should receive co-authorship? John Lauritsen makes a convincing case that Percy Bysshe Shelley should, at the very least, be given credit as co-author

St. Irvyne is highly recommended.

Shelley's The Cenci is just one of many tellings of a true story that captures the imagination and the heart of almost everybody who hears of it. The story has been retold in many novels, even in opera.

It is the tale of the lovely and innocent Beatrice Cenci, who in late 16th century Rome was molested by a corrupt and powerful father, Count Francesco Cenci. Her father was so well-connected that there was no one, not even the Pope, to whom she could turn for protection. So, with the help of her mother and her brother, she seeks the ultimate revenge and pays the price.

Shelley's poetic drama is considered one of the best works of his short life. His treatment is more Shakespearean than poetic, but without the immortal bard's light comic touches. The Cenci is true tragedy through and through with a poetic touch that will capture the soul of the reader. I found myself reading passages aloud to myself to both hear the dramatic content and to better understand the meaning of dialogs broken into lines of poetry. This is not an easy book to read, both for its subject and its writing style, yet the reward is well worth the effort. Some of Shelley's greatest lines are in this work. Here is a brief segment from the 5th Act of Beatrice's words in contemplating her fate:

Oh, trample out that thought! Worse than Despair,
Worse than the bitterness of death, is hope;
It is the only ill which can find place
Upon the giddy, sharp and narrow hour
Tottering beneath us. Plead with the swift frost
That it should spare the eldest flower of spring;
Plead with awakening earthquake, o'er whose couch
Even now a city stands, strong, fair, and free;
Now stench and blackness yawn, like death. Oh, plead
with famine, or wind-walking Pestilence,
Blind lightning, or the deaf sea, not with man!
Cruel, cold, formal man; righteous in words,
In deeds a Cain.

In reading Yeats , one comes upon so many issues of content and style. Reading this may give you a clue. It is important for stylistic interpretation, thematic analysis, and discussions or how Yeats began his career and the topics he chose. It is refreshing to think of Yeats as an extension of Shelley. Hopefully , our generation may develop writers and philosopers with links to Yeats. This will give you ample time to reflect on the issues. It is not light reading.

Zastrozzi: A Romance (1810) and St. Irvyne (1811)are Gothic horror novel masterpieces by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Zastrozzi was the first publushed work by Shelley in 1810. He wrote Zastrozzi when he was seventeen and a student at Eton. People remember Percy Bysshe Shelley today as a poet who wrote Ozymandias, Ode to a Skylark, Prometheus Unbound, and The Masque of Anarchy. Shelley began his literary career, however, with the publication of two Gothic horror romance novels, Zastrozzi in 1810 and St. Irvyne in 1811. Shelley is regarded as one of the greatest poets in the English language. His prose writings, however, have been neglected and overlooked. This is an excellent edition of Zastrozzi: A Romance and is highly recommended.

Zastrozzi is about obsession, revenge, and the agony of unrequited love. Zastrozzi first kidnaps Verezzi and imprisons him in a dungeon. Bernardo and Ugo guard him. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against Verezzi to avenge his mother. Matilda is obsessively in love with Verezzi. Verezzi, however, is in love with Julia. Zastrozzi manipulates Matilda to destroy Verezzi. He exploits Matilda's obsessive love for Verezzi to destroy both.

The novel begins with a dramatic bang as Zastrozzi's men kidnap Verezzi and tie him up and then chain him in a dungeon. He goes through intense agonies as worms infest his hair and he faces starvation. He escapes but then meets up with Matilda, whom he saves from suicide, who is obsessed with Verezzi. He is then brainwashed and terrorized and manipulated into renouncing his love for Julia. Verezzi goes through intense psychological torture at the hands of Zastrozzi and Matilda. They are both manipulated by Zastrozzi.

Zastrozzi is a complex psychological thriller. The story is not a simple tale about good versus evil. Zastrozzi goes beyond good and evil. Zastrozzi is a precursor of the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Friedrich Nietzsche. Zastrozzi is a precursor of Rodion Raskolnikov of Crime and Punishment and Also Sprach Zarathustra. He is a superman who dismisses ordinary morality. He is an atheist for whom all is permitted. Zastrozzi is a demi-god, an assassin, who creates his own values and laws and morality. The theme is similar to the later unfinished Shelley novella "The Assassins", about a religious sect that plans to create a utopia by assassinating all the tyrannical and corrupt leaders in the world.

Zastrozzi is a tale of pure horror. Zastrozzi is not satiated to kill merely the body. He seeks to kill the soul. Death is not the worst that can happen. He keeps Verezzi alive to be able to inflict unspeakable tortures on him and to terrorize and to manipulate him. Zastrozzi seeks to punish not only the alleged wrongdoer, but to punish their progeny as well. Ironically, Verezzi and Zastrozzi may have had the same father. Verezzi is his brother. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against his own father, his human Creator. It is a revolt against God. Zastrozzi is angry with God and seeks to create his own reality, his own world. He becomes a god himself. The inquisition has no terrors for him. Death has no terror for him. He creates his own values and morality. He can do whatever he wishes with other human beings. He decides their fate, whether they will live or die. Zastrozzi reaches the limits of human horror and depravity and terror.

Man rejects God and becomes a god himself. God is dead. This theme was later central to the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Shelley's wife Mary Shelley. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the preface to that novel in 1818 published anonymously and according to John Lauritsen in The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein (2007), Percy Bysshe Shelley was the real author of Frankenstein. At the very least, Percy contributed major portions to that novel which shows his influence on every page. It is known for a fact that Percy Shelley wrote the preface that explained the novel and how it was written. He also wrote at least a thousand plus words to Frankenstein that are known by examining the manuscript. Lauritsen shows convincingly that many of the themes, ideas, cadences, literary style, that are present in the novel Frankenstein are those associated with Percy Shelley: male friendship, the Prometheus link, the John Milton connection, the idea of atheism and a rejection of God, man becoming God, revolution, the power of nature, and science transforming man. Percy Shelley's influence is all over Frankenstein.

In 1977, Canadian playwright George F. Walker wrote a successful dramatic play adaptation of the novel that is still performed today. It was staged in Arkansas in the US this year. It has become a classic. In 1986, David Hopkins adapted the Shelley novel for a four-part mini-series for Britain TV. The company that produced the film was Channel Four Film in the UK. The novel has achieved a cult classic status.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a revolutionary visionary and firebrand who pushed the boundaries in literature and in his life. Zastrozzi reflects his artistic vision. The themes and central ideas of Zastrozzi are ones that would reappear. Zastrozzi is an unfairly overlooked and ignored Gothic horror masterpeice by one of the greatest Romantic writers.

Zastrozzi is highly recommended. This is an excellent version of the novel first published in London in 1810.

Zastrozzi: A Romance (1810) is a Gothic horror novel masterpiece by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Zastrozzi was the first publushed work by Shelley in 1810. He wrote Zastrozzi when he was seventeen and a student at Eton. People remember Percy Bysshe Shelley today as a poet who wrote Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, Prometheus Unbound, and The Masque of Anarchy. Shelley began his literary career, however, with the publication of two Gothic horror romance novels, Zastrozzi in 1810 and St. Irvyne in 1811. Shelley is regarded as one of the greatest poets in the English language. His prose writings, however, have been neglected and overlooked.

Zastrozzi is about obsession, revenge, and the agony of unrequited love. Zastrozzi first kidnaps Verezzi and imprisons him in a dungeon. Bernardo and Ugo guard him. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against Verezzi to avenge his mother. Matilda de Laurentini is obsessively in love with Verezzi. Verezzi, however, is in love with Julia. Zastrozzi manipulates Matilda to destroy Verezzi. He exploits Matilda's obsessive love for Verezzi to destroy both.

Zastrozzi is a complex psychological thriller. The story is not a simple tale about good versus evil. Zastrozzi goes beyond good and evil. Zastrozzi is a precursor of the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Friedrich Nietzsche. Zastrozzi is a precursor of Rodion Raskolnikov of Crime and Punishment and Also Sprach Zarathustra. He is a superman who dismisses ordinary morality. He is an atheist for whom all is permitted. Zastrozzi is a demi-god, an assassin, who creates his own values and laws and morality.

The novel is also about forgiveness. Matilda forgives and is able to find serenity. Zastrozzi is obsessed and consumed by revenge until it destroys both him and Matilda. The novel is about good and evil but ultimately transcends them.

Zastrozzi is a tale of pure horror. Zastrozzi is not satiated to kill merely the body. He seeks to kill the soul. Death is not the worst that can happen. He keeps Verezzi alive to be able to inflict unspeakable tortures on him and to terrorize and to manipulate him. Zastrozzi seeks to punish not only the alleged wrongdoer, but to punish their progeny as well. Ironically, Verezzi and Zastrozzi may have had the same father. Verezzi is his brother. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against his own father, his human Creator. It is a revolt against God. Zastrozzi is angry with God and seeks to create his own reality, his own world. He becomes a god himself. The inquisition has no terrors for him. Death has no terror for him. He creates his own values and morality. He can do whatever he wishes with other human beings. He decides their fate, whether they will live or die. Zastrozzi reaches the limits of human horror and depravity and terror.

Man rejects God and becomes a god himself. God is dead. This theme was later central to the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Shelley's wife Mary Shelley. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the preface to that novel in 1818 published anonymously and according to John Lauritsen in The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein (2007), Percy Bysshe Shelley was the real author of Frankenstein. At the very least, Percy contributed major portions to that novel which shows his influence on every page.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a revolutionary visionary and firebrand who pushed the boundaries in literature and in his life. Zastrozzi reflects his artistic vision. The themes and central ideas of Zastrozzi are ones that would reappear. Zastrozzi is an unfairly overlooked and ignored Gothic horror masterpeice by one of the greatest Romantic writers.

In 1977, Canadian playwright George F. Walker wrote a successful adaptation of the novel as a dramatic play. The play continues to be performed today. In 2007, Zastrozzi was staged in Arkansas in the US. In 1986, David Hopkins wrote an adaptation of the novel for British TV when a four-part mini-series was released by Channel Four Film.

Zastrozzi is highly recommended. The ReadHowYouWant edition presents the novel in an easy to read format. Buy this book. You will enjoy it.