The Poetical Works.: Edited by Mrs. Shelley.

London: Edward Moxon,, 1839. Giving the productions of a sublime genius to the world First collected edition, a very attractive set in the deluxe red cloth, rare in such bright and fresh condition. Mary Shelley's collected edition of her husband's poetical works established him finally and irreversibly amongst the great poets of the English language. Pirate editions of Shelley's works had persuaded his father, Sir Timothy, that all hope of obscurity had passed, and Mary was allowed to prepare a proper edition provided there was only a minimum of biographical information. "Mary Shelley brought Shelley into the mainstream of the national culture. He was no longer the author of a notorious banned poem [Queen Mab] only obtainable from shops specializing in blasphemy, sedition and advice on birth control. He was the prophet of Prometheus Unbound, one of the most ambitious attempts ever made to uplift life by literature, and of other works such as the "Ode to the West Wind"... The notes that Mary added are masterpieces of editing, adding so immeasurably to the reader's understanding that nobody would now consider printing Shelley's poems without them" (St Clair, p. 492). Four volumes, octavo. Original red pebble-grained cloth, spines lettered and decorated in gilt, covers panelled with arabesque decorations in blind, yellow coated endpapers. Engraved portrait frontispiece. Cloth a little rubbed, extremities bumped and lightly worn with some minor loss to front joint of vol. 4; faint foxing to first few leaves of vol. 1, front inner hinges of vols 3 and 4 partly cracked but firm, contents otherwise clean and crisp. A very good set. Dunbar, Shelley Studies 345; Granniss 88; Wise, p. 87. St Clair, The Godwins and the Shelleys: The Biography of a Family, 1989.