The Major Works

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was a Romantic poet of radical imaginings, living in an age of change. His tempestuous life and friendship with Byron, and his tragically early death, at times threatened to overwhelm his legacy as a poet, but today his standing as one of the foremost English authors is assured.

This freshly edited collection--the fullest one-volume selection in English--includes all but one of the longer poems, from Queen Mab onwards, in their entirety. Only Laon and Cythna is excerpted, in a generous selection. As well as works such asPrometheus Unbound, The Mask of Anarchy, and Adonais, the volume includes a wide range of Shelley's shorter poems and much of his major prose, including A Defence of Poetry and almost all of A Philosophical View of Reform. Shelley emerges from these pages as a passionate and eloquent opponent of tyranny and a champion of human possibility.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Zachary Leader has published widely on nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature. Among his books are Revision and Romantic Authorship (1996), Romantic Period Writings 1798-1832: An Anthology (co-edited with Ian Haywood) (1999), and (as editor) The Letters of Kingsley Amis (2000). Michael O'Neill has published widely on Romantic and twentieth-century poetry. Among his books are The Human Mind's Imaginings: Conflict and Achievement in Shelley's Poetry (1989), Percy Bysshe Shelley: A Literary Life (1989). and Romanticism and the Self-Conscious Poem (1997).