The Sensitive Plant
London / Philadelphia: William Heinemann / J.B. Lippincott Co., n.d. (c.1911). Edition: Deluxe edition, First Robinson Edition., Binding: Half blue calf over marbled paper boards. Spine with 5 raised bands, gilt lettering in second and fourth compartments, gilt floral stamps in remaining. Marbled pasted and free endpapers., Notes: Small quarto. (260 x 200 mm).
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 – 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achievements in poetry grew steadily following his death, and he became an important influence on subsequent generations of poets, including Robert Browning, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Thomas Hardy, and W. B. Yeats. American literary critic Harold Bloom describes him as "a superb craftsman, a lyric poet without rival, and surely one of the most advanced sceptical intellects ever to write a poem."
The Shelleys moved to Pisa in January 1820, ostensibly to consult a doctor who had been recommended to them. There they became friends with the Irish republican Margaret Mason (Lady Margaret Mountcashell) and her lover George William Tighe. Mrs Mason became the inspiration for Shelley's poem "The Sensitive Plant", and Shelley's discussions with Mason and Tighe influenced his political thought and his critical interest in the population theories of Thomas Malthus.
, Size: Small quarto. , Illustration: Near fine example in a beautiful binding. Illustrated with 18 tipped in colour plates. , Pages: 128 pp., Category: Book Literature;. Extremities lightly rubbed, interior clean and crisp. Item #B7321
Price: $475.00