Title: Shelley’s Boat: The turbulent, tragic last weeks of Percy Bysshe Shelley

Author: Julian Roach

Date of First Publication: 2005

Place of Publication: Harbour Books

Type: Novel

Characters: Mary Shelley; Lord Byron; Percy Shelley; John Trelawney

Themes: BYRONIC HERO; QUEER; RACE/POLITICS; WOMEN WRITING MONSTERS

Critical Summary: The novel follows the final weeks of Percy Shelley’s life in dramatic detail. Information is taken from letters and journal entries from those involved in order to paint an accurate picture of their activities and dwellings. The weather of Casa Magni—the villa Shelley rented off the coast of Italy—plays a sympathetic part in the story. It is no coincidence that this turbulent weather is what spells his end. Scandal and hardship are equally expressed—it becomes obvious that this sojourn fails to live up to the expectations of Shelley and his companions. Not only does the story follow the short timeline before his death, it also explains some of the history of the individuals involved in his life—why they are there, who they are with, and what part they play in his life.

Mary Shelley is, of course, an important part of this equation. The novel mentions the occasion of her writing Frankenstein and the events surrounding it—namely besting her husband, Lord Byron, and others at scary story telling. It delves into her inspiration in the form of Shelley’s androgyny and Byron’s overt masculinity. The politics and radicalism of the time are presented as the backdrop. Byron is obviously framed as the original Byronic Hero, and Roach does something interesting in comparing Percy Shelley to the monster in sympathetic terms. Mary Shelley’s suffering is often brought to the forefront of this work, and gives an important insight into how she could conceive of such a novel idea as Frankenstein, and how her husband’s death later affects her works. Overall, this novel presents a thoughtful look into characters who seem larger than life: Mary, Percy, Lord Byron, Trelawney, and more. The author fleshes out the lives of individuals who have taken on the title of legend, and does so more or less in their own words.

Administrative Notes: Emily Soto, CSUF; Amanda Howard, CSUF (editing)