Lodore’s scope of character and of idea is matched by its narrative range and variety of setting; the novel’s highly dramatic story-line moves at different points to Italy, to Illinois, and to Niagara Falls. And in this edition, which includes a wealth of documents from the period, the reader is provided with a sense of the full context out of which Shelley’s achievement emerged.
Lisa Vargo educated at Mount Holyoke College and the University of Toronto, is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Saskatchewan.