The Oxford Handbook of Percy Bysshe Shelley (Oxford Handbooks) - Hardcover

The result is nothing less than a fascinating, encyclopaedic account of the many genres, modes, and concerns of Shelley's writing, the many contemporary and academic approaches to that writing, and Shelley's many and varied influences on subsequent cultural texts. (Cian Duffy, European Romantic Review)

... not only contextualizes many of the recent developments in Shelley studies, but also provides new inroads into the study of his life and his works. ...[It] fully satisfies its stated aim of providing a resource not only for seasoned academics and researchers, but also-crucially-for new readers who will extend and shape the poet's legacy in the generations to come. (The Year's Work in English Studies)

Concretely historical and conceptually astute at once, and therefore to offer a full picture of Shelley's still-challenging accomplishment ... It is exhilarating to read this luminously intelligent guidebook from cover to cover. (Nathan K. Hensely, Notes and Queries)

there can be little doubt that this superb addition to the Oxford Handbook series succeeds in its ... ambition ... [an] extremely impressive achievement. (David O'Shaughnessy, BARS Review)

[This book] should find a place in every university library ... The Shelley who emerges is an appropriately complex figure, fascinated by other writers and literary traditions, political ideas and philosophical theories. ... There are many excellent essays in the collection, which do not simply survey or collate already known characteristics of Shelley but offer a new perspective informed by original research. (Sharon Ruston, Modern Language Review)

an astonishingly thorough examination of Shelley's literary career ... As a collection of eminently readable essays, this volume is a splendid accomplishment, presenting a dynamic, fascinating, thoughtful, and hard-working Shelley ... While providing plenty of biographical, historical, literary, and other contextual information, this collection puts the writing - prose and verse - in sharp focus without ignoring the interesting, often titillating aspects of Shelley's personal life and the famous relationships the poet enjoyed ... Refreshingly, the volume never loses sight of Shelley's work or his intellect and creativity. (D. A. Robinson, Choice)

The volume has a long-range critical lens, and it is fair to say that this should give it a place for many years to come. Equally, the elegant and deeply informed formalism practised in many of the essays here is no bad model for future Shelley Studies ... one cannot fail to be impressed overall by a book that offers such a thorough and learned overview of all aspects of Shelley, whilst also striking any reader on any given page with sharp and surprising readings of individual moments, contexts or stanzas. One could not ask for much more in a book of this nature. (Christopher Stokes, Byron Journal)

The Oxford Handbook of Percy Bysshe Shelley takes stock of developments in the study of a major Romantic poet and prose writer, and seeks to advance Shelley studies in new directions. It consists of forty-two chapters written by an international cast of established and emerging scholar-critics. This Handbook is divided into five thematic sections: Biography and Relationships; Prose; Poetry; Cultures, Traditions, Influences, and Afterlives. The first section reappraises Shelley's life and relationships, including those with his publishers through whom he sought to reach an audience for the 'Ashes and sparks' of his thought, and with women, creative collaborators as well as muse-figures. The second section gives his under-investigated prose works detailed attention, bringing multiple perspectives to bear on his conceptual positions, and demonstrating the range of his achievement in prose works from novels to political and poetic treatises. The third section explores Shelley's creativity and gift as a poet, emphasizing his capacity to excel in many different poetic genres. The fourth section looks at Shelley's response to past and present literary cultures, both English and international, and at his immersion in science, music, theatre, the visual arts, and travel. The fifth section concludes the volume by analyzing Shelley's literary and cultural afterlife, from his influence on Victorians and Moderns, to his status as the exemplary poet for Deconstruction. Packed with stimulating insights and readings. The Oxford Handbook of Percy ByssheShelley brings out the relevance to Shelley's own work of his dictum that 'All high poetry is infinite'.