Percy Bysshe Shelley was born on August 4, 1792, at Field Place in Sussex, England, to Timothy Shelley and Elizabeth Pilfold Shelley. Raised in an affluent family, he attended Eton College, where he developed a love for literature and science, and later went on to study briefly at University College, Oxford, from which he was expelled for co-authoring a pamphlet promoting atheism. His personal and intellectual defiance would come to define his life and work. Shelley married Harriet Westbrook in 1811, but the marriage ended in tragedy. In 1816, he married Mary Godwin, daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, after Harriet s death. Shelley became a central figure in the Romantic movement, forming close associations with literary figures such as Lord Byron and Leigh Hunt. His prose and poetry reflected his passion for political reform, human liberty, and philosophical idealism. Despite facing criticism during his lifetime, Shelley remained dedicated to his ideals. He died on July 8, 1822, in a boating accident off the coast of Lerici, Italy. His contributions to literature were recognized posthumously, securing his place as one of the most influential Romantic poets in the English literary tradition.
![Cover of The Poetical Works [afterw.] the Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ed. and Prefaced by the Author of Tennysoniana](https://images.bookhype.com/covers/c2/2c/95668f53-633b-4ed4-a13f-2a645f96c22c/9781347594506-9b8c27dbd4838cdf6b7c97-medium-cropped.jpg)
