Shelley's first major lengthy narrative poem, Queen Mab; A Philosophical Poem; With Notes, had originally been intended for publication by Thomas Hookham and composed between June 1812 and late February 1813. Some 250 copies of Queen Mab were printed in May 1813 with Shelley's name and address appearing as that of the printers. Increasingly concerned about the radical nature of his work, however, Shelley eradicated his name and distributed 70 copies to those readers he deemed sympathetic to his sentiments rather than offering the whole print run up for immediate sale. Nearly a decade later, in 1821, William Clark, a London publisher, purchased the 180 reminder copies and sold them among the radical working-class. He continu

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Published 20 September 2002

Citation: Sandy, Mark. "Queen Mab". The Literary Encyclopedia. 20 September 2002.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2505, accessed 21 November 2009.]