Historical figure Percy Shelley

Born in: 1792  - Died in: 1822
Born on 4 August 1792 at Field Place, Warnham, in Sussex County, the eldest son of conformist Timothy Shelley, a Whig parliamentarian under the protection of the Duke of Norfolk, and Elizabeth Pilfold Shelley, he began studying Greek and Latin at Reverend Evan's school Edwards, parish priest of Warnham. At home the sisters Elizabeth and Mary suggest and marvel with tales of terror and magic. He then attended the Syon House Academy in Isleworth and despite being distinguished by a remarkable learning ability, he found the school "a perfect hell" and preferred to spend the days reading gothic novels.

Influenced by Enlightenment ideas, Percy Bysshe Shelley as a poet and intellectual defended liberal thought and rebelled openly to English religious and political institutions. His lyrics, with a bright and impulsive tone, fit perfectly into the vein of romantic poetry, of which it is considered one of the greatest authors, especially English.

Born on 4 August 1792 at Field Place, Warnham, in Sussex County, the eldest son of conformist Timothy Shelley, a Whig parliamentarian under the protection of the Duke of Norfolk, and Elizabeth Pilfold Shelley, he began studying Greek and Latin at Reverend Evan's school Edwards, parish priest of Warnham. At home the sisters Elizabeth and Mary suggest and marvel with tales of terror and magic. He then attended the Syon House Academy in Isleworth and despite being distinguished by a remarkable learning ability, he found the school "a perfect hell" and preferred to spend the days reading gothic novels.

However, the University was essential for a subject of his rank. He studied at Eton and then at Oxford, from where he was expelled for writing and circulating a pamphlet in defense of atheism. In the same year, it was 1811, he married Harriet Westbrook and after the umpteenth conflict with his father he broke all relations with him to move to the Lake District. Harriet will give him two sons, Eliza Ianthe and Charles.

Two years later he published "Regina Mab", a philosophical poem in nine songs that incorporates the socialist thought of William Godwin and whose theme is the Past, the Present, the Future. The meeting with Godwin led him to meet his daughter Mary, with whom he went to live in Switzerland in 1814 and, immediately after the tragic end of his wife Harriet, who died by suicide, two years later the impalma. Mary Shelley will achieve great notoriety as the author of the famous gothic novel "Frankenstein".

Back in England, Percy Shelley writes "Alastor, or the spirit of solitude" (1816), an allegory in verse that anticipates his most important works. In the summer of the same year, again in Switzerland, Shelley and Mary know one of their great contemporaries, the lively and feverish George Byron.

In 1818 he published "The revolt of Islam", a poem with revolutionary tones: shortly after the couple left England, where Shelley would never return. Even his homeland did not want to learn more about him, banned from society because of his radical ideas and his extravagant behavior. In the following four years he lived mainly in Italy, where he became friends with the poet Leigh Hunt and where he continued his acquaintance with his friend Byron.

On July 8, 1822, not yet thirty, Percy Bysshe Shelley died drowned off La Spezia during the stormy return to Lerici from a boat trip. His body together with that of his friend Edward Williams is found in Viareggio. The bodies are burned on the same beach, in the presence of friends Lord Byron and Leigh Hunt. Later, Shelley's tomb will be placed in the city of Rome.

Percy Shelley Visited places

Bagni di Pisa Palace & Spa

 Largo Shelley, 18 - 56017 San Giuliano Terme - Pisa
Palace/Villa, Thermae/Spa

The Bagni di Pisa Palace & Spa is located in the green hills of San Giuliano Terme, 6 km from Pisa and 12 km from Lucca. Converted from a careful restoration of a villa dating back to 1200, it is... see

Offered services

Hotel, Location for Ceremonies and Conferences, Restaurant, Swimming pool, Wellness Center / SPA

Time period
1700s
Middle Ages

Where
Italy, Pisa

Villa Pliniana

 Via Cesare Poggi, 29 - 22020 Torno - Como
Palace/Villa

Villa Pliniana overlooks the lake in an isolated bay near the town of Torno. The façade is punctuated by four orders of windows; those on the main floor are surmounted by broken tympanums, those... see

Offered services

Apartments / Rooms for rent / Bed&Breakfast, Wellness Center / SPA

Time period
1500s
Ancient History

Where
Italy, Como