Unmasked: The Darcys in Venice – The Arrival of Shelley

 Percy Bysshe Shelley

Lord Byron had quite forgotten about his dinner invitation to the Darcys, as Shelley’s arrival had distracted him. They had not met in several years, and after warm greetings Shelley lost no time in freeing his mind about his first concern: the fate of Byron’s little daughter Allegra. The child’s mother, Claire Clairmont, lived with Shelley and his wife Mary, her half-sister, and she had come to Italy to try to see her child. Shelley represented to Byron Claire’s grief and ...