Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the Image of a Literary Family

by Stephen Hebron, Elizabeth C. Denlinger

It is difficult to think of a family more endowed with literary genius than the Shelley family—from the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife, novelist Mary Shelley, to Mary’s parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft—all were authors in their own right. Using extensive archival material, Shelley’s Ghost explores the making of this remarkable literary family’s reputation.             Drawing on the Bodleian Library’s outstanding collection of letters, poetry manuscripts, rare printed books, portraits, and other personalia—including Shelley’s working notebooks, Keats’s letters to Shelley, William Godwin’s diary, and the original manuscript of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein —Stephen Hebron charts the history of this talented yet troubled family. After Percy Bysshe Shelley’s drowning in 1822, Mary published various manuscripts relating to both her husband’s and her father’s lives, and passed this historical legacy to her son, Sir Percy Florence Shelley and his wife, Lady Jane Shelley. As guardians of the archive until they bequeathed it to the Bodleian in 1892, Sir Percy Florence and Lady Jane helped shape the posthumous reputations of these writers. An afterword by Elizabeth Denlinger of the New York Public Library offers an additional perspective, exploring material relating to the Shelley family that slipped beyond the family’s control.             An unparalleled look at one of the most significant families of British Romantic literature, Shelley’s Ghost will be welcomed by scholars and the many fans of this enduring literacy legacy.

Genres: Poetry, Biography

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2011

Reviews

[Flavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a writer's death, it is editors, publishers and readers who ensure that the hearth is not estinguished; and these Shelley has never lacked.

Shelley’s Ghost draws on the life and works of the poet by showing an outstanding collection of manuscripsts, portraits, and objects that belonged to Shelley or those close to him, including Mary Wollstonecraft. It also tells the story of these precious objects and how they survived still today. A must have for those obssesed with Bysshe.

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tracing of the ownership and movement of manuscripts and items associated with the Shelleys and Mary Wollstonecraft helps fill in some of the gaps about this difficult to sort out family. It includes a photo of the guitar featured in "With Guitar. To Jane."

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed this book on my blog.

[aljouharah · Rating 5 out of 5]

مجموعه متفرقه من رسائل \ صفحات من مذكرات شخصيه و مسودات أوليه لأفراد عائلة شيلي.
بدأ الكتاب بصفحة من مذكرات ماري شيلي تنعى فيها وفاة زوجها،
الكتاب صغير ومليء بمشاعر العائلة: من هرب شيلي وماري إلى فرنسا إلى آخر يوم في حياة والدة ماري المناصرة لحقوق المرأة ماري ولستونكرافت.