Often critically neglected as a piece of Shelley's juvenilia,
Zastrossiwas composed between the March and late August of 1809. Arguably one of Shelley's earliest surviving works of prose fiction (aside from
St. Irvyne, or The Rosicrucian1811 [See Separate Entry] and his abandoned
The Assassins1814),
Zastrossimarks his first major creative venture into the domain of Gothic-romance. The London publishers J. Wilkie and G. Robinson issued Shelley's tale of Gothic horror in the following spring of 1810. The plot, subject, and style of
Zastrossiare indebted to Shelley's avid reading, during in his time at Eton, of popular and sensationalist fiction. In composing
Zastrossi, Shelley relied heavily on Gothic conventions of narration and characterisation prevalent in such popular works as Anne…
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Citation: Sandy, Mark. "Zastrossi". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8926, accessed 26 November 2024.]
