The Life of Shelley

The Life of Shelley is a work by Thomas Jefferson Hogg, an English writer and friend of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Hogg was expelled from Oxford with Shelley in 1811 for their involvement in writing a pamphlet titled "The Necessity of Atheism". After Shelley's death, Hogg was commissioned by the Shelley family to write his biography. The first two volumes, published in 1858 as The Life of Shelley, offered insights into the poet's character through anecdotes and letters. However, the Shelley family objected to Hogg's prominent role in the biography and denied him further access to sources, preventing the completion of the planned four volumes. Percy Bysshe Shelley himself was a significant figure among the second generation of English Romantic writers, known for his radical political views and passionate pursuit of social justice. He tragically drowned in 1822 at the age of 29.123