What do you think?
Rate this book
Zastrozzi: Bir Romans
Percy Bysshe Shelley’nin (1792-1822) on yedi yaşında yazdığı ve 1810 yılında P. B. S. imzasıyla yayımladığı ilk romanı Zastrozzi: Bir Romans, kendisinden önceki gotik kurmacalara duyduğu minnet borcunu yansıtır. İntikam, tutku ve gücün yıkıcı doğasını işleyen kitabın merkezinde “La Contessa di Laurentini” Matilda, Verezzi ve Zastrozzi yer alır. Verezzi’ye duyduğu çılgınca aşkın karşılığını alamayan Matilda, Zastrozzi’den Verezzi’nin sevdiği Julia’yı öldürmesini ister. Zastrozzi’ninse Verezzi’den intikam almak için kendince sebepleri vardır.
Karmaşık karakterleri ve karanlık temasıyla yüzyıllar sonra bile okuru büyülemeyi başaran Zastrozzi: Bir Romans, 1977’de oyun yazarı George F. Walker tarafından tiyatro sahnesine, 1986 yılında ise David G. Hopkins tarafından dört bölümlük bir televizyon dizisine uyarlanmıştır.
Karmaşık karakterleri ve karanlık temasıyla yüzyıllar sonra bile okuru büyülemeyi başaran Zastrozzi: Bir Romans, 1977’de oyun yazarı George F. Walker tarafından tiyatro sahnesine, 1986 yılında ise David G. Hopkins tarafından dört bölümlük bir televizyon dizisine uyarlanmıştır.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1810
About the author
Percy Bysshe Shelley
1,702 books1,432 followersWorks of Percy Bysshe Shelley, British romantic poet, include "To a Skylark" in 1820;
Prometheus Unbound
, the lyric drama; and "Adonais," an elegy of 1821 to John Keats.
The Cenci , work of art or literature of Percy Bysshe Shelley of 1819, depicts Beatrice Cenci, Italian noblewoman.
People widely consider Percy Bysshe Shelley among the finest majors of the English language. He is perhaps most famous for such anthology pieces as Ozymandias , Ode to the West Wind , and The Masque of Anarchy . His major long visionary Alastor , The Revolt of Islam , and the unfinished The Triumph of Life .
Unconventional life and uncompromising idealism of Percy Bysshe Shelley combined with his strong skeptical voice to make an authoritative and much denigrated figure during his life. He became the idol of the next two or three generations, the major Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Algernon Charles Swinburne, as well as William Butler Yeats and in other languages, such as Jibanananda Das and Subramanya Bharathy . Karl Marx, Henry Stephens Salt, and [authorm:Bertrand Russell] also admired him. Famous for his association with his contemporaries Lord Byron, he also married Mary Shelley, novelist.
The Cenci , work of art or literature of Percy Bysshe Shelley of 1819, depicts Beatrice Cenci, Italian noblewoman.
People widely consider Percy Bysshe Shelley among the finest majors of the English language. He is perhaps most famous for such anthology pieces as Ozymandias , Ode to the West Wind , and The Masque of Anarchy . His major long visionary Alastor , The Revolt of Islam , and the unfinished The Triumph of Life .
Unconventional life and uncompromising idealism of Percy Bysshe Shelley combined with his strong skeptical voice to make an authoritative and much denigrated figure during his life. He became the idol of the next two or three generations, the major Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Algernon Charles Swinburne, as well as William Butler Yeats and in other languages, such as Jibanananda Das and Subramanya Bharathy . Karl Marx, Henry Stephens Salt, and [authorm:Bertrand Russell] also admired him. Famous for his association with his contemporaries Lord Byron, he also married Mary Shelley, novelist.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
April 20, 2025
Percy Shelley is most famous for enduring poetry, dying young, and a scandalous cemetery romance with the author of Frankenstein. (Their dates were regularly held at the gravestone of Mary's mother, while Percy was still married to his first wife.) But he also wrote two Gothic novels. The first was Zastrozzi, which he finished at the age of sixteen and found publication a few years later in 1810.
Even among Gothic scholars, Zastrozzi is generally considered a minor work. This is both fair and unfortunate. The prose is exquisite, the thrills plentiful. There's sex, torture, gore, mystery, murder, sublime landscapes and crumbling mansions. What more can you ask for?
As for faults, the novel comes across as parody much of the time, or Ann Radcliffe fanfiction. The beginning is a near-exact replica of The Romance of the Forest (1791), the middle recalls much of The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) and the end will remind all Radcliffe readers of The Italian (1797). Wonderful source material, of course, but compressing three Gothic masterworks into a slim 100-page novella is a predictably tall challenge.
On one hand, Zastrozzi never has a dull moment. On the other, it can often feel random. Characters appear as if on a breeze and disappear just as suddenly. Driving motivations are illogical and largely unexplained. Long-time Gothic readers will know the tropes by heart and can just go with it. But sometimes it's too much even for us.
A twist finale reveals Zastrozzi's peculiar psychology. Confronted by the Inquisition, he is given brave rhetoric and sense of heroism. This was the most scandalous aspect of the novel, since Zastrozzi is a proud atheist who laughs in the face of God's judgment. Critics were quick to bash the novel's blasphemous aspects. One noted, "Zastrozzi is one of the most savage and improbable demons that ever issued from a diseased brain."
In fact, Shelley likely gave these daring lines to Zastrozzi as a means of expressing his own distaste for religion. The following year, he published an essay titled "The Necessity of Atheism" and would face a lifetime of backlash, to the point of self-exile, because of it.
Another fascinating aspect of the novel is gender fluidity. Many modern readers detest Ann Radcliffe's female characters who often faint at the first sign of conflict. While Radcliffe's women were quite adventurous and daring for the era, seeing them faint so often has dampened her reputation as a pre-feminism trailblazer. In Zastrozzi, however, it's the men who faint repeatedly and must lean on a woman's bosom for support. There's also a female villain mastermind who was probably modeled after Victoria in Charlotte Dacre's 1806 novel Zofloya.
Much speculation has been made of Shelley's sexuality, though it is generally agreed he was bisexual. His presentation of gender in this novel certainly reflects a challenge to conformity. For scholars interested in the long history of queer influence on Gothic literature, Zastrozzi is not a text to miss.
From a pure enjoyability standpoint, Zastrozzi holds up quite well. The writing is extraordinarily tight. Every paragraph bursts with emotional turmoil or dramatic plot developments. Despite its slim number of pages, it contains as much story as significantly longer works. Astonishing to imagine someone writing these beautiful sentences at the age of sixteen, even if there's significant Radcliffe copying going on.
Probably not the first Gothic novel I'd recommend, but I vehemently disagree with anyone who argues that Shelley's teenage ode to the genre is insignificant.
Even among Gothic scholars, Zastrozzi is generally considered a minor work. This is both fair and unfortunate. The prose is exquisite, the thrills plentiful. There's sex, torture, gore, mystery, murder, sublime landscapes and crumbling mansions. What more can you ask for?
As for faults, the novel comes across as parody much of the time, or Ann Radcliffe fanfiction. The beginning is a near-exact replica of The Romance of the Forest (1791), the middle recalls much of The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) and the end will remind all Radcliffe readers of The Italian (1797). Wonderful source material, of course, but compressing three Gothic masterworks into a slim 100-page novella is a predictably tall challenge.
On one hand, Zastrozzi never has a dull moment. On the other, it can often feel random. Characters appear as if on a breeze and disappear just as suddenly. Driving motivations are illogical and largely unexplained. Long-time Gothic readers will know the tropes by heart and can just go with it. But sometimes it's too much even for us.
A twist finale reveals Zastrozzi's peculiar psychology. Confronted by the Inquisition, he is given brave rhetoric and sense of heroism. This was the most scandalous aspect of the novel, since Zastrozzi is a proud atheist who laughs in the face of God's judgment. Critics were quick to bash the novel's blasphemous aspects. One noted, "Zastrozzi is one of the most savage and improbable demons that ever issued from a diseased brain."
In fact, Shelley likely gave these daring lines to Zastrozzi as a means of expressing his own distaste for religion. The following year, he published an essay titled "The Necessity of Atheism" and would face a lifetime of backlash, to the point of self-exile, because of it.
Another fascinating aspect of the novel is gender fluidity. Many modern readers detest Ann Radcliffe's female characters who often faint at the first sign of conflict. While Radcliffe's women were quite adventurous and daring for the era, seeing them faint so often has dampened her reputation as a pre-feminism trailblazer. In Zastrozzi, however, it's the men who faint repeatedly and must lean on a woman's bosom for support. There's also a female villain mastermind who was probably modeled after Victoria in Charlotte Dacre's 1806 novel Zofloya.
Much speculation has been made of Shelley's sexuality, though it is generally agreed he was bisexual. His presentation of gender in this novel certainly reflects a challenge to conformity. For scholars interested in the long history of queer influence on Gothic literature, Zastrozzi is not a text to miss.
From a pure enjoyability standpoint, Zastrozzi holds up quite well. The writing is extraordinarily tight. Every paragraph bursts with emotional turmoil or dramatic plot developments. Despite its slim number of pages, it contains as much story as significantly longer works. Astonishing to imagine someone writing these beautiful sentences at the age of sixteen, even if there's significant Radcliffe copying going on.
Probably not the first Gothic novel I'd recommend, but I vehemently disagree with anyone who argues that Shelley's teenage ode to the genre is insignificant.
May 5, 2021
so i only read this because it was short and i knew i would be buying the new sarah waters book today (!) and i just wanted something to fill the gap until i could dive into ms waters (twss). and it was fine. it's full of swooning and wasting away over love and treachery and pining and villainy and hidden motives and poison and blah blah blah. in other words: typical gothic novel. it seems to start in the middle of something that is happening and never explained...why is he so sleepy?? someone answer this for me please. we just like byron better.
come to my blog!
come to my blog!
August 6, 2020
This Gothic novella tells the story of a masterfully executed horrific revenge which the titular character carries out against two innocent victims with the help of his partner in crime, Matilda, who blinded by her passionate obsession to one of the victims, fails to see the true motive of Zastrozzi.
This work is said to be the first prosaic endeavor by Shelley. And while Shelley is one of the most renowned Romantic poets of the time and to-date, I found his prose to be lacking the colour which is abundant in his poetry. The writing is repetitive and detached. It fails to arouse emotions in the reader. These types of Gothic horror stories are never my preference and I would have a hard time stomaching the horrific conduct of the villains of the story. But nothing of that sort happened. Even the most gruesome passages, I read with passivity.
This was read as part of a challenge I have taken, and honestly, if it was not to complete the challenge, I wouldn't have seen it to the end.
This work is said to be the first prosaic endeavor by Shelley. And while Shelley is one of the most renowned Romantic poets of the time and to-date, I found his prose to be lacking the colour which is abundant in his poetry. The writing is repetitive and detached. It fails to arouse emotions in the reader. These types of Gothic horror stories are never my preference and I would have a hard time stomaching the horrific conduct of the villains of the story. But nothing of that sort happened. Even the most gruesome passages, I read with passivity.
This was read as part of a challenge I have taken, and honestly, if it was not to complete the challenge, I wouldn't have seen it to the end.
April 18, 2022
Grim, ghastly, gothic, intense.
The story is as intense as being trapped in a spider’s web awaiting your impending doom. Only in this story, we are mere witnesses and the trapped creature is poisoned, unaware of its peril yet slowly having its life forces sucked out of it. The captive is not sure whether it fears its captor or loves it for looking after it.
In the real story, a terrible person captures the object of their affection through the nastiest and most deceptive means possible, battling intensely and desparately, for the doted one to reciprocate. The captive is quite unintelligent and easily coaxed yet feels just as passionately, only for another, and without guile. There is a mysterious hunchman with an agenda enabling the situation.
The story is repetitive yet borders on adding to the intensity of this dilusion, however some readers may tire of this. Like the spider’s web, not a lot happens, it just relies on the interest in the inner workings of the depraved.
Set in Bohemia in the 1810’s (I think). Lots of gothic imagery.
3.5 stars rounded up.
The story is as intense as being trapped in a spider’s web awaiting your impending doom. Only in this story, we are mere witnesses and the trapped creature is poisoned, unaware of its peril yet slowly having its life forces sucked out of it. The captive is not sure whether it fears its captor or loves it for looking after it.
In the real story, a terrible person captures the object of their affection through the nastiest and most deceptive means possible, battling intensely and desparately, for the doted one to reciprocate. The captive is quite unintelligent and easily coaxed yet feels just as passionately, only for another, and without guile. There is a mysterious hunchman with an agenda enabling the situation.
The story is repetitive yet borders on adding to the intensity of this dilusion, however some readers may tire of this. Like the spider’s web, not a lot happens, it just relies on the interest in the inner workings of the depraved.
Set in Bohemia in the 1810’s (I think). Lots of gothic imagery.
3.5 stars rounded up.
March 18, 2016
Every gothic novel I have read so far has seemed like a parody of itself. This said, and although it feels like Shelley took different gothic elements from different novels and patched them all together in here, they form a a well written (nice descriptions, good atmosphere- would have needed some editing, for he repeats certain phrases: humane physician, strained eyeballs- a lot) total. The ending was (seeexiiist) very good, even satisfactory. YES ZASTROZZI!
February 16, 2023
Una sorprendente pero sobre todo apasionante historia gótica de un jovencísimo Shelley, que ya apuntaba maneras. Es un libro que tiene que habitar tus estanterías sí o sí, tanta pasión shelleyana no la puedes dejar escapar. Recomiendo encarecidamente la edición de Libro Singular con el delicioso prólogo de Silvia Broome.
September 5, 2009
The most underrated book in the world, absolutely amazing read, I consider it my new favourite book. I just wish Shelley had wrote more Novellas.
March 13, 2017
Percy Bysshe Selley surely did not have a night of good rest when he started to write Zastrozzi. Exploiting the vogue of Gothic novels/romances that raged between the second half of the 18th and second half of the 19th centuries, his attempt was not quite as successful as that of the other authors... Certainly, there are the evil antagonists, bad to the core, each of them pursuing their different goals, and the (good) protagonists cannot but fall victims to their machinations. Throw in an Italian locale, with a touch or two of the Inqusition, and the reader arrives to the happy end (with two corpses)!!
Unless, of course, Shelley parodied the whole genre of Gothic novel, in which case he almost succeeded. Anyway, the novel is a short one, not a mastodon like Udolpho, and quite humorous at times.
Unless, of course, Shelley parodied the whole genre of Gothic novel, in which case he almost succeeded. Anyway, the novel is a short one, not a mastodon like Udolpho, and quite humorous at times.
August 5, 2011
I would highly recommend the Gothic novel Zastrozzi (1810) by Percy Bysshe Shelley. It is a novel about obsession and a Promethean character, Zastrozzi, who seeks to transcend all morality and values, a Gothic Prometheus. The Hesperus Classics edition features a preface by Germaine Greer. She presents a good analysis of the plot but completely overlooks the themes of the novel. She even misspells the title of Shelley's second Gothic novel as St. Irvine. St. Irvyne (1811) is about an alchemist or scientist who seeks to impart the secret of immortality to Wolfstein, an outcast in the Swiss Alps. It has a horrific scene where a poem is read about the corpse of a nun, Rosa, who is reanimated. These novels are previews of Frankenstein (1818), which Percy Bysshe Shelley co-wrote with his wife Mary Shelley. All three novels are very similar in style and theme. The critics hated all three Gothic novels for the same reasons. Zastrozzi was adapted into a successful play by George F. Walker and was staged at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and was turned into a 1986 mini-series on British TV starring Tilda Swinton. Percy Bysshe Shelley dominates all three novels. There is the same "Promethean narrative" and John Milton influence in all three novels. No one can deny Percy Bysshe Shelley's influence and impact. Zastrozzi is a vastly underrated Gothic masterpiece. You have to ignore the reviews and focus on the themes of the novel. Zastrozzi is a novel about a character that seeks to push the boundaries. He is a Gothic Prometheus.
September 12, 2014
This juvenile tarradiddle would have been totally forgotten by now if it hadn't been written by Shelley. Repetitive, confusing, overblown - it's not even a good example of Gothic writing. I doubt if PBS would have wanted to be remembered for this.
Currently Reading
July 25, 2012Only part way through this one, and I have to admit, I am killing myself laughing over it. It is so, so, so deliciously ghastly. I would like to make the excuse that he did only write it in his late teens--but then, didn't Mary write Frankenstein around the same age? Oh, Shelley, Shelley.... You are a brilliant man. Really. But....leave the prose work to your wife, okay?
Want to Read
January 22, 2008I like when I find a book that I have never heard of by a classical author that I like. It's like getting an extra Christmas scheduled in the year.
Read
February 10, 2016I'm going to have to go back and finish it because exams, but man Shelley is intolerable.
July 16, 2025
O Percy Shelley einai kyrios diasimos gia tin poihsh tou,alla egrapse episis 2 gothika mythistorimata.To prwto itan to Zatrozzi,to opoio teleiwse se ilikia dekaeksi etwn kai dimosieftike liga xronia argotera,to 1810
To vivlio den exei vareti stigmi.Oi xaraktires emfanizontai san aeraki kai eksafanizontai eksisou ksafnika.Ta kinitra einai paraloga kai aneksigita.Ena finale anatropis apokalyptei tin psixologia tou Zastrozzi.Antimetopos me tin Iera Eksetasi,tou dinetai gennaia ritoriki kai aisthisi iroismou.Afti itan h pio skandalwdis ptyxi tis nouvelas,afou o Zastrozzi,enas perifanos atheos,gelaei mprosta stin krisi tou Theou.O siggrafeas pithanotata edwse afta ta tolmira xaraktiristika ston Zastrozzi ws meso ekfrasis tis dikis tou apostrofis gia tin thriskeia
Mia allh sinarpastiki ptyxi tou vivliou einai h refstotita twn fylwn.Polloi sigxronoi anagnwstes apexthanontai tous gynaikeious xaraktires pou katarreoun me to prwto simadi sigkrousis.Edw omos,einai oi andres pou lipothymoun epaneilimmena kai prepei na stirixthoun stin agkalia mias gynaikas gia ypostiriksi.H parousiasi tou fylou se afto to mythistorima antikatoptrizei sigoura mia proklisi simmorfosis
To vivlio den exei vareti stigmi.Oi xaraktires emfanizontai san aeraki kai eksafanizontai eksisou ksafnika.Ta kinitra einai paraloga kai aneksigita.Ena finale anatropis apokalyptei tin psixologia tou Zastrozzi.Antimetopos me tin Iera Eksetasi,tou dinetai gennaia ritoriki kai aisthisi iroismou.Afti itan h pio skandalwdis ptyxi tis nouvelas,afou o Zastrozzi,enas perifanos atheos,gelaei mprosta stin krisi tou Theou.O siggrafeas pithanotata edwse afta ta tolmira xaraktiristika ston Zastrozzi ws meso ekfrasis tis dikis tou apostrofis gia tin thriskeia
Mia allh sinarpastiki ptyxi tou vivliou einai h refstotita twn fylwn.Polloi sigxronoi anagnwstes apexthanontai tous gynaikeious xaraktires pou katarreoun me to prwto simadi sigkrousis.Edw omos,einai oi andres pou lipothymoun epaneilimmena kai prepei na stirixthoun stin agkalia mias gynaikas gia ypostiriksi.H parousiasi tou fylou se afto to mythistorima antikatoptrizei sigoura mia proklisi simmorfosis
Read
September 4, 2025So i finally finished what i DNF earlier this year and actually it isn't as bad as i had thought, it is a decent one considering it was written by a 17 year old. This is only my assumption but i think with Zastrozzi, Percy Shelley tried to reproduce Zofloya, or The Moor, or parodied it even. Mainly it has the same set of characters, a female protagonist (or antagonist?) which has an obssession with a certain male side character and willing to do anything to obtain his love. Also a titular character, an enigmatic mastermind who seemingly gives help and assistance to all her vices but actually has his own hidden agenda. From the two gothic novella that he wrote i very much preferred Zastrozzi than St.Irvyne which story i totally forgot i admit, i only remember that it has an absurd plot, dramatic characters, and unfinished feels to it? More like a draft than a finished work.
August 19, 2020
Rating: 2 stars
This was definitely the most intensely and unapologetically Gothic book I've ever read: intense emotions, great natural images, and dark castles abound. Shelley very bluntly - and unclearly - advocates for atheism, but hides it among a story of revenge, love, and intense emotion. None of the characters are heroes, certainly not the duplicitous Matilda or the weak, annoying Verezzi. Instead, the terrifying Zastrozzi emerges as the supposed hero, the one who was able to finally achieve his revenge through cool calculation and his adherence to atheism. I wish we had spent more time with him than the annoyingly emotional Matilda and Verezzi, but I guess that would give away the novella's final twist. Shelley's message, however, was very muddled by not only the language (which was pretty typical for his time, and definitely typical of a poet) but also the characters' own actions. I read through this quickly, but it was not very enjoyable.
This was definitely the most intensely and unapologetically Gothic book I've ever read: intense emotions, great natural images, and dark castles abound. Shelley very bluntly - and unclearly - advocates for atheism, but hides it among a story of revenge, love, and intense emotion. None of the characters are heroes, certainly not the duplicitous Matilda or the weak, annoying Verezzi. Instead, the terrifying Zastrozzi emerges as the supposed hero, the one who was able to finally achieve his revenge through cool calculation and his adherence to atheism. I wish we had spent more time with him than the annoyingly emotional Matilda and Verezzi, but I guess that would give away the novella's final twist. Shelley's message, however, was very muddled by not only the language (which was pretty typical for his time, and definitely typical of a poet) but also the characters' own actions. I read through this quickly, but it was not very enjoyable.
March 20, 2025
you can tell he wrote it when he 17. only worth reading if you have enough of a pre-existing parasocial relationship with percy shelley to make that a little endearing/funny.
September 14, 2025
Mary Shelley’s mans or whatever.
He wrote this when he was 18 and you can tell.
Should’ve stuck to poetry and cheating on his wives.
He wrote this when he was 18 and you can tell.
Should’ve stuck to poetry and cheating on his wives.
December 31, 2025
Sorry mr Percy I was unfamiliar with your game
May 1, 2025
3,5.
Aunque es una interesante novela que recoge algunos tópicos del gótico y los entremezcla con el romanticismo, creo que se nota la juventud del autor en la pluma y desarrollo.
Aunque es una interesante novela que recoge algunos tópicos del gótico y los entremezcla con el romanticismo, creo que se nota la juventud del autor en la pluma y desarrollo.
September 23, 2025
Chapter 7 is my favourite.
September 9, 2012
A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green. - Francis Bacon
Zastrozzi, A Romance was first published in 1810 with only the author's initials "P.B.S." on its title page. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote it when he was seventeen while at Eton College. it was the first of Shelley's two early Gothic novels and considered to be his first published prose work as well.
i like Shelley's writing. he is certainly one of the finest lyric poets in the English language and his poetic side shines throughout the narrative - in how he describes his characters, their emotions and the places around them.
i think that the romance referred to in the title, though, is a misnomer if it was referring to Contessa Matilda di Laurentini and Il Conte Verezzi's relationship. there was nothing romantic between them. it was really more of an obsession on Matilda's part and acquiescence on the latter. what led to Verezzi to succumb to Matilda's devious charms is one of the highlights of the book.
on the other hand, romance could be admitted if one were to speak of Verrezi's undying love for La Marchesa Julia de Strobazzo despite Matilda's machinations and duplicity.
i believe this book is more of a thriller than a "romance." i had no idea what was going on and why Pietro Zastrozzi was so fixated on revenge until the last few pages. although the conclusion was a little abrupt for me, it was still a surprisingly powerful one.
Zastrozzi, A Romance was first published in 1810 with only the author's initials "P.B.S." on its title page. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote it when he was seventeen while at Eton College. it was the first of Shelley's two early Gothic novels and considered to be his first published prose work as well.
i like Shelley's writing. he is certainly one of the finest lyric poets in the English language and his poetic side shines throughout the narrative - in how he describes his characters, their emotions and the places around them.
i think that the romance referred to in the title, though, is a misnomer if it was referring to Contessa Matilda di Laurentini and Il Conte Verezzi's relationship. there was nothing romantic between them. it was really more of an obsession on Matilda's part and acquiescence on the latter. what led to Verezzi to succumb to Matilda's devious charms is one of the highlights of the book.
on the other hand, romance could be admitted if one were to speak of Verrezi's undying love for La Marchesa Julia de Strobazzo despite Matilda's machinations and duplicity.
i believe this book is more of a thriller than a "romance." i had no idea what was going on and why Pietro Zastrozzi was so fixated on revenge until the last few pages. although the conclusion was a little abrupt for me, it was still a surprisingly powerful one.
August 1, 2014
I don't think I have any right to criticize anything written by Percy Shelley, which makes this a difficult review to write. Wait, that makes it sound as if there are several things wrong with this book. That's not true. My only little, tiny, bitty, insignificant mention of an imperfection, was that sometimes there was a tad too much repetition in regards to word choice. That's it. There.
Other than that, I really liked reading it. The ending was rather boss as well. I did not anticipate one of the twists at the end, and so it was an interesting surprise. I admit to loving revenge stories, and this one was pretty epic, especially in how Zastrozzi was far more committed to his revenge than most characters often tend to be. I started this book for the atheism angle, but that ended up being one of the least important aspects.
Other than that, I really liked reading it. The ending was rather boss as well. I did not anticipate one of the twists at the end, and so it was an interesting surprise. I admit to loving revenge stories, and this one was pretty epic, especially in how Zastrozzi was far more committed to his revenge than most characters often tend to be. I started this book for the atheism angle, but that ended up being one of the least important aspects.
February 9, 2009
A really unexpected twist with the title character being treated to second-billing, only fully coming to deserve the spotlight title during the last few pages, when his wiliness is explained, while Matilda is quite wretched, yet sympathetic, warranting recrimination, yet evoking compassion. Quite a good little read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2011
Three stars is really too many for this adolexcent effort of PBS. But I can't help but enjoy its derivitive nature, from Cahrlotte D'Acre especially, which shows how the romantic Gothic novel influenced Shelley to a large degree.
August 28, 2015
An exceptional work of fiction from a schoolboy. By no means the finished article (and there some elements of juvenile coyness) but his decision to concentrate on poetry is clearly literature's loss.
June 18, 2016
Fast read! Good Gothic story for a stormy day.
April 29, 2025
Othello vibes but make it gothic.
July 31, 2018
I thought “Z” might be one of the more difficult letters to cover for the classics challenge but it wasn’t. I wanted to read something actually written by Percy Bysshe Shelley since I’ve read a bit about him and his famous wife, Mary Shelley lately. I already read her Frankenstein a few years ago, for a university class, and it ended up being one of my favorite books. I have another of Percy Shelley’s books on my shelf but I wanted to start with this novella since it fit my classics reading challenge for this year. Also bonus for an accidentally hilarious sounding title, it sounds way more befitting a BDSM romance story or something more along those lines (sorry, but it’s not like that despite what the title sounds like).
There is literally no chill in this book. I’d rate this as one of the most emotionally intense and extreme stories that I’ve read in a long time (and recently I’ve read both a Nina La Cour novel and a novel where the main character has a manic episode– that’s a lot of feelings). Matilda is tripping out pretty much every five minutes (it gets a little repetitive with her scary-strong jealousy and then violent happiness whenever Verezzi acts interested in her remotely). Verezzi and Zastrozzi both have their moments too. Julia is probably the only sane character and she’s barely in the story at all. Mostly Matilda talks about how much she hates Julia or Verezzi cries about how virtuous and amazing Julia is. Julia isn’t really a character in her own right. The only time she appears on scene and does anything noteworthy is when she dies.
Matilda, an Italian countess, is insanely in love with Verezzi. She hires this assassin Zastrozzi to kill Julia, another rich Italian lady, because Verezzi loves her not Matilda. Zastrozzi, unbeknownst to Matilda, had been torturing Verezzi before she summons him to go after Julia. Verezzi escapes Zastrozzi but eventually falls into Matilda’s clutches any way. Zastrozzi ends up playing Matilda against herself and her rather violent feelings for Verezzi and against Julia. It becomes the story of a failed romance and a crime as both Verezzi and Julia are killed; Matilda and Zastrozzi are made to pay for their crimes.
The language of the story is highly poetic and shows the character’s every emotion in intense detail. Matilda and Verezzi were both constantly changing their feelings through out the narrative. Even though Zastrozzi was the criminal master mind, he appears to be the most emotionally stable character, in that he doesn’t change as often as Matilda and Verezzi do. I was actually in correct as to why Zastrozzi wanted to destroy Verezzi, originally when reading this, before I got to the trial scene, I believed that Zastrozzi was in love with Matilda but that isn’t the case since he brings her down with him. It’s for revenge; Zastrozzi is avenging the mistreatment and abandonment of his mother by Verezzi’s father (which makes him and Verezzi brothers, the plot twist at the end).
I rated this novella 3.5 stars! It’s kind of a lot to follow with characters (usually Matilda) having emotional outbursts at least once a page but I liked Shelley’s way with words; its pretty clear to me that he had a gift. If you like drama, crime, Gothic/Romantic writing or emotional writing, you’ll probably enjoy this book.
There is literally no chill in this book. I’d rate this as one of the most emotionally intense and extreme stories that I’ve read in a long time (and recently I’ve read both a Nina La Cour novel and a novel where the main character has a manic episode– that’s a lot of feelings). Matilda is tripping out pretty much every five minutes (it gets a little repetitive with her scary-strong jealousy and then violent happiness whenever Verezzi acts interested in her remotely). Verezzi and Zastrozzi both have their moments too. Julia is probably the only sane character and she’s barely in the story at all. Mostly Matilda talks about how much she hates Julia or Verezzi cries about how virtuous and amazing Julia is. Julia isn’t really a character in her own right. The only time she appears on scene and does anything noteworthy is when she dies.
Matilda, an Italian countess, is insanely in love with Verezzi. She hires this assassin Zastrozzi to kill Julia, another rich Italian lady, because Verezzi loves her not Matilda. Zastrozzi, unbeknownst to Matilda, had been torturing Verezzi before she summons him to go after Julia. Verezzi escapes Zastrozzi but eventually falls into Matilda’s clutches any way. Zastrozzi ends up playing Matilda against herself and her rather violent feelings for Verezzi and against Julia. It becomes the story of a failed romance and a crime as both Verezzi and Julia are killed; Matilda and Zastrozzi are made to pay for their crimes.
The language of the story is highly poetic and shows the character’s every emotion in intense detail. Matilda and Verezzi were both constantly changing their feelings through out the narrative. Even though Zastrozzi was the criminal master mind, he appears to be the most emotionally stable character, in that he doesn’t change as often as Matilda and Verezzi do. I was actually in correct as to why Zastrozzi wanted to destroy Verezzi, originally when reading this, before I got to the trial scene, I believed that Zastrozzi was in love with Matilda but that isn’t the case since he brings her down with him. It’s for revenge; Zastrozzi is avenging the mistreatment and abandonment of his mother by Verezzi’s father (which makes him and Verezzi brothers, the plot twist at the end).
I rated this novella 3.5 stars! It’s kind of a lot to follow with characters (usually Matilda) having emotional outbursts at least once a page but I liked Shelley’s way with words; its pretty clear to me that he had a gift. If you like drama, crime, Gothic/Romantic writing or emotional writing, you’ll probably enjoy this book.
July 24, 2026
Zastrozzi. A Romance by Percy Bysshe Shelley. A Review of an Overlooked Gothic Horror Masterpiece
Zastrozzi: A Romance (1810) and St. Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian: A Romance (1811) are Gothic horror novel masterpieces by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Zastrozzi was the first published prose 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, To a Skylark, The Cenci, Prometheus Unbound, Adonais, 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. The Broadview Press edition presents these two novels together along with the Wolfstein chapbook and the shorter works The Assassins and The Coliseum.
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, the Contessa di Laurentini, is obsessively in love with Verezzi. Verezzi, Il Conte Verezzi, however, is in love with Julia, La Marchesa de Strobazzo. 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. Pietro 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.
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 (1818). 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.
St. Irvyne 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". St. Irvyne, and William Godwin's St. Leon and Frankenstein, are based on a search for the secret of life. There was a real-life German physician and scientist, Johann Cohausen, who claimed to have found the secret to immortality in his satire Hermippus Redivivus (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. 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 Alps near Geneva, the scene of the later Frankenstein. He is rescued by monks who prevent his attempted suicide. Bandits then attack them. Wolfstein poisons the leader of the bandits, Cavigni, and escapes. Megalena, also held captive, 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 the satire Hermippus Redivivus.
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. 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 main characters, Wolfstein and Frankenstein, are based on the names of German cities. Both novels have scientists who want to find the secret to eternal existence or immortality. Both novels have epigraphs from John Milton's Paradise Lost. 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..." The Being in Frankenstein 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.
St. Irvyne foreshadows Frankenstein with its theme of a scientist or alchemist, Ginotti, trying to ascertain the secret of life. The book is an important and seminal Gothic novel of the Romantic period and is highly recommended.
The main characters of the novella The Assassins (1814) are Albedir and Khaled who encounter a stranger in a story about zealots who are determined to bring justice and benevolence to mankind through assassination and violence. The Coliseum is about Helen and her blind father, who encounter a stranger known as Il Diavolo di Bruto, Brutus's Devil, in the ruins of the Roman coliseum.
Percy Bysshe Shelley was a revolutionary visionary and firebrand who pushed the boundaries in literature and in his life. Karl Marx wrote that Shelley "was essentially a revolutionist." Zastrozzi reflects Shelley's artistic vision. The themes and central ideas of Zastrozzi are ones that would reappear. Parricide and revenge, for example, would be the principal themes of Shelley's classic 1819 play The Cenci. Zastrozzi is an unfairly overlooked and ignored Gothic horror masterpiece by one of the greatest Romantic writers.
Zastrozzi and St. Irvyne are highly recommended. The Broadview Press edition includes these two seminal novels, the novellas The Assassins and The Coliseum, and the Wolfstein chapbook, in the definitive texts.
Zastrozzi: A Romance (1810) and St. Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian: A Romance (1811) are Gothic horror novel masterpieces by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Zastrozzi was the first published prose 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, To a Skylark, The Cenci, Prometheus Unbound, Adonais, 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. The Broadview Press edition presents these two novels together along with the Wolfstein chapbook and the shorter works The Assassins and The Coliseum.
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, the Contessa di Laurentini, is obsessively in love with Verezzi. Verezzi, Il Conte Verezzi, however, is in love with Julia, La Marchesa de Strobazzo. 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. Pietro 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.
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 (1818). 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.
St. Irvyne 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". St. Irvyne, and William Godwin's St. Leon and Frankenstein, are based on a search for the secret of life. There was a real-life German physician and scientist, Johann Cohausen, who claimed to have found the secret to immortality in his satire Hermippus Redivivus (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. 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 Alps near Geneva, the scene of the later Frankenstein. He is rescued by monks who prevent his attempted suicide. Bandits then attack them. Wolfstein poisons the leader of the bandits, Cavigni, and escapes. Megalena, also held captive, 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 the satire Hermippus Redivivus.
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. 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 main characters, Wolfstein and Frankenstein, are based on the names of German cities. Both novels have scientists who want to find the secret to eternal existence or immortality. Both novels have epigraphs from John Milton's Paradise Lost. 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..." The Being in Frankenstein 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.
St. Irvyne foreshadows Frankenstein with its theme of a scientist or alchemist, Ginotti, trying to ascertain the secret of life. The book is an important and seminal Gothic novel of the Romantic period and is highly recommended.
The main characters of the novella The Assassins (1814) are Albedir and Khaled who encounter a stranger in a story about zealots who are determined to bring justice and benevolence to mankind through assassination and violence. The Coliseum is about Helen and her blind father, who encounter a stranger known as Il Diavolo di Bruto, Brutus's Devil, in the ruins of the Roman coliseum.
Percy Bysshe Shelley was a revolutionary visionary and firebrand who pushed the boundaries in literature and in his life. Karl Marx wrote that Shelley "was essentially a revolutionist." Zastrozzi reflects Shelley's artistic vision. The themes and central ideas of Zastrozzi are ones that would reappear. Parricide and revenge, for example, would be the principal themes of Shelley's classic 1819 play The Cenci. Zastrozzi is an unfairly overlooked and ignored Gothic horror masterpiece by one of the greatest Romantic writers.
Zastrozzi and St. Irvyne are highly recommended. The Broadview Press edition includes these two seminal novels, the novellas The Assassins and The Coliseum, and the Wolfstein chapbook, in the definitive texts.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews