Michelle Kronwald
michellekronwald@aol.com

Time Line of Events In the Life Of:

Percy Bysshe Shelley

A Rebel to Family's Expectations, Social Constructions & Subject Matter in His Writing

August 4, 1792 Percy Bysshe Shelley is born to Timothy & Elizabeth Shelley in
Sussex, England. Shelley is born into a wealthy, political family.

1804 Shelley begins attending Eton College and attends for six years
before transfering to Oxford

1810 Shelley begins attending Oxford University where he attended for
only one year before getting expelled for writing a pamphlet on
atheism. This expulsion destroyed the relationship between Shelley
and his father.

1811 Shelley eloped to Scotland with Harriet Westbrook. He was nineteen
and she was sixteen. Then they moved to the Lake District in
England so that he could write.

1813 Shelley published his first long text titled "Queen Mab: A
Philosophical Poem". This poem was connected to Shelley's
relationship with William Godwin, father of Mary Wollstonecraft
Godwin.

1814 Percy Shelley "unofficailly" eloped in Europe. They had to return to
England only six weeks later because they did not have any money.
In November of this year, Harriet Shelley bore and son and several
months later Mary Godwin gave birth prematurely to a child that
died several weeks later.

1815 In January, Mary Godwin gave birth to a son named William. That
summer, Percy and Mary went to Lake Geneva. Here they spent a
great deal of time with Lordy Byron. It was here that Mary Godwin
wrote Frankenstein. Shelley also wrote Alastor.

1816 Harriet Shelley committed suicide and three weeks later Percy and
Mary officially married in London.

1818 Percy and Mary Shelley left England for the last time due to the pressures
of creditors and social hatre,traveling and living in different Italian cities.
Shelley produced most of his major works in this time of his life.

July 8, 1822 Percy Shelley died at age 29 when he drowned in a storm sailing
from Leghorn to Le Spezia, Italy. It is rumored that the ship might
have gone down in the storm after being rammed by another ship
that was attempting to rob them. It is also legended that Shelley's
body was burned on the beach, but his heart was delivered to Mary.

 

Return to previous page

USEFUL LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

Percy Bysshe Shelley Resource Page

Spartacus Site For Info About Percy Bysshe Shelley

Bartleby Site For Info About Percy Bysshe Shelley