Percy Shelley: Marriages
After nineteen year old Percy Shelley permanently left Oxford, he traveled to Scotland in the summer of 1811; in his company was the young girl Harriet Westbrook, sixteen years old, and they were married. Shelley invited his college friend to live with them, but Harriet said no, so instead, they moved back to England, Keswick specifically, where Shelley intended to write. Despite his intentions, Percy ended up traveling to Ireland where he became involved in several anti-government political movements, as well as publishing more radical pamphlets; this earned him the negative attention of the British government. Spending time with his first wife, Harriet, and his first child Ianthe Shelley, did not interest him, and so he turned his attentions to Cornelia Turner, where he “studied Italian”, –and French too, no doubt. Afterwards, he began visiting the home and bookshop of William Godwin, –a famous political novelist, who had turned to writing children’s stories after his second marriage. Godwin’s first wife was Mary Wallstonecraft, one of the founding feminist philosophers, who died in childbirth.
While visiting the Godwin household, Percy met Mary Godwin, and later, on July 28, 1814, he abandoned his pregnant wife, as well as his young child, and ran away with Mary tour Europe. Later on, they invited along Mary’s stepsister Jane Clairmont, who became “Claire Clairmont” afterwards, and settled down in Switzerland. Mary and Percy later wrote an account of their journey. However, after six weeks the three were finally out of money, and had to return to England. Percy and Mary lived just outside London, where Percy wrote and published Alastor, or The Spirit of Solitude, which did not immediately attract many readers. Later, however, it became known as his first major achievement in literature.
After their return to England, life was going steadily downhill for Mary and Percy. Mary’s half-sister Fanny Imlay killed herself in the autumn of 1815, and the rumours were that it was out of remorse for the loss of Percy’s affection. In the winter of 1816, Percy’s wife Harriet drowned herself; a few weeks after her body was discovered, Percy and Mary were wed. The plan was to retain custody of Percy’s children with a hasty marriage, but it fell through, and his children were sent to live with foster parents. Mary and Percy then settled once more in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, where Percy became once more involved in the literary circle. There, he wrote Laon and Cythna, another of his major achievements, which was later edited and published as The Revolt of Islam in 1818.
