SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe.

£2,250 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The Poetical Works. First collected edition, attractively bound by Peacock & Mansfield. Mary Shelley's collected edition of her husband's poetical works established him finally and irreversibly amongst the great poets of the English language.Pirated editions of Shelley's works had persuaded his father, Sir Timothy, that all hope of obscurity had passed, and Mary was allowed to prepare a proper edition provided she included only a minimal amount of biographical information. "Mary Shelley brought Shelley into the mainstream of the national culture. He was no longer the author of a notorious banned poem [Queen Mab] only obtainable from shops specializing in blasphemy, sedition and advice on birth control. He was the prophet of Prometheus Unbound, one of the most ambitious attempts ever made to uplift life by literature, and of other works such as the "Ode to the West Wind"... The notes that Mary added are masterpieces of editing, adding so immeasurably to the reader's understanding that nobody would now consider printing Shelley's poems without them" (St Clair, p. 492).

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