Claire Clairmont and the Shelleys 1798-1879

Abstract Claire Clairmont, the stepsister of Mary Shelley, has usually been presented as a minor, though damaging figure in the great dramas of Shelley and Byron. This first continuous account of her long and adventurous life describes her upbringing in Godwin's progressive household, her close but ambiguous relationship with Percy and Mary Shelley, and her role as the mother of Allegra, her illegitimate daughter by Byron, who died in childhood. It continues with the struggle to maintain herself independently after Shelley's death, refusing offers of marriage and working as governess among a variegated series of families in Florence, Vienna, Petersburg, Moscow, Paris, and London. Drawing on her vivid letters and journals, the authors portray a woman of talent and resilience making her way in nineteenth-century Europe. They show her sharp judgement, her powers of observation, her flair for languages, and the lovely singing voice which drew poems from Shelley and Byron. Robert Gittings and Jo Manton bring into focus a lesser-known life of much drama and pathos, at the same time enhancing our knowledge of the main characters of the Romantic movement, and their world.