This biography gives brief details of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s short but extraordinary life, from his birth in 1792 to his early death in 1822, shortly before his thirtieth birthday.

The opening paragraph caught my immediate attention in pointing out that Shelley was not that far away from the present day. Although he was born during the reign of mad King George III when there were struggles for independence in Europe – the French Revolution and then Napoleon’s rise to power, his granddaughter saw the sinking of the Titanic, the First World War and the Great Depression.

Shelley was an unhappy child, an unconventional teenager, an atheist and a radical reformer. He was expelled from Oxford University before he could complete his degree and was at odds with his father. He eloped with the daughter of a coffee-shop owner in 1811 but after three years the marriage was over when he met Mary Godwin. He was constantly in poor health and for much of the rest of his life they lived a nomadic existence travelling around Italy and France.

Hahn also quotes extracts from Shelley’s poems and prose. He also uses various sources such as Shelley’s friend Thomas Hogg, who wrote his Life of Shelley in 1857, Shelley’s cousin Tom Medwin who published a memoir of Shelley and a two-volume Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1847 and another friend, Edward Trelawney who wrote Recollections of the Last Days of Shelley and Byron in 1858.

I found parts of the book moving, Shelley’s reaction to John Keats’s death for example and the events of his own death, but on the whole it is a prosaic account of Shelley’s life. Hahn’s repetitive use of the word “would” was irritating. It has interested enough to want to read more about Shelley and his poems. ( )

A breezy, elliptical little biography, in desperate need of a good editing. Sloppily written in places and somewhat cheeky in tone, it's still enjoyable and informative, if a quick introduction to Shelley and his work is all you're looking for.

I like the way this book was constructed, and I like the way it was written.
The cover has a front and rear flap, much like the flaps on the dustjacket of a hardcover book. On the front flap is a short review of the book. On the rear flap is a list of related titles, some of which will eventually find a place on my bookshelves as well.
I usually prefer to read full-length biographies, but Daniel Hahn seemed to cover all the pertinent points of Shelley's life in 150 pages. What's more, Mr. Hahn has sparked my interest in Shelley. I have had Shelley's Note Books sitting unread on my bookshelves for years. It is now time to read it.

In talking about literature, an author's name is often invoked in reference both to his person and to his work. A form of metonymy, I believe. But I digress. I mention this phenomenon to highlight the double meaning when I say this book is a fine introduction to Shelley. It covers the main events of his life and continually cites his poetry along the way. In fact, I don't know that I've ever seen a biography that so evenly balanced literary work with a literary life. There's enough quoted poetry on offer here that the text might serve in a classroom setting.

Neither fish nor fowl in that it's neither a full life nor a full collection of works, it won't satisfy a real scholar of Romanticism, but that's clearly not its intent. Someone wondering if she might like this Shelley character she's heard a bit about would find this a great place to start.

This book is fairly light reading and is a easy introduction to Shelley and his poetry. The author satisfactorily weaves Shelley's poetry within the story of his life. This book is not for children given the nature of Shelley's life and the author's non-judgmental attitude toward Shelley's indiscretions and overall mistreatment of most of those closest to him, particularly his family.