Percy Bysshe Shelley, St Irvyne or the Rosicrucian

Mark Sandy (University of Durham)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University), Emily Rohrbach (University of Durham)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1811

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Gothic & Ghosts
Novel
Romance

Resources

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Probably composed in 1810, Shelley's second Gothic tale of romance,

St Irvyne; or The Rosicrucian

, was, to a certain extent, written in the manner of its forerunner,

Zastrossi

[See Separate Entry], which also went to press in that same year. Published by Stockdale,

St. Irvyne

was issued during Shelley's first term as an undergraduate (December, 1811) and advertised as a tale by “a Gentleman of the University of Oxford”. Shelley's composition of

St Irvyne

was, like

Zastrossi

a few months earlier, much influenced by his immersion in the popular offerings of the Minerva Press, including works by Matthew G. Lewis, Anne Radcliffe, and Charlotte Dacre. The literary sources to which Shelley's

St. Irvyne

is indebted also extend beyond this usual stock of sensationalist fiction to William…

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1100 words

Citation: Sandy, Mark. "St Irvyne or the Rosicrucian". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1886, accessed 26 November 2024.]

Percy Bysshe Shelley, St Irvyne or the Rosicrucian

Dates

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