An Incompatible Passion : a play in 3 acts

by Nigel Patten

An Incompatible Passion tells the dramatized history of the last three months in the life of the controversial poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley.

In the spring of 1822, Percy and his second wife, Mary Woolstonecroft, the author of the famous novel Frankenstein, along with her half-sister, Claire, rented a villa on the Tuscan coast. They were joined there by Jane and Edward Williams, and later the Cornish adventurer Edward Trelawny.

The relationship between Mary and her husband soured after two of their three children died young. Both Mary and Claire shared Percy’s affections, which caused tremendous friction, as the poet had a tendency to pursue pretty women. Claire had given birth to illegitimate daughters by both Shelley and Lord Byron, so living together in the same house was not easy for Mary.

Trelawny persuaded a friend to construct a yacht for the poet, and while sailing one day with Edward Williams, a sudden squall capsized the boat and both men drowned. The remains of Shelley’s body were cremated on the beach in the presence of Byron and Trelawny.

About the
Nigel Patten was born in London and moved fifty years ago to Switzerland to live at a ski resort. He teaches English at an international school and has for many years both acted and directed in a theater company in Vevey. He has performed in numerous musicals, including playing Professor Higgins in “My Fair Lady.” His main hobby is mountain hiking, taking him twice up Mount Kilimanjaro. He travels extensively and sails his own yacht among the Greek islands.

Publisher’s

157 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2013

About the author

Although born in the UK, Nigel Patten has lived in Switzerland since the 1960's. In addition to writing 5 novels and a 3-act play, he teaches English literature for the French Baccalaureate in an international alpine college. He has travelled extensively on all continents, driving to India and back and across the Sahara. He is also a keen cross country skier and mountain walker.

Nigel Patten’s novels are set in different historical periods, but his greatest interest lies in developing a style combining poetic prose and the stream of consciousness.