Percy Bysshe Shelley, Queen Mab

Mark Sandy (University of Durham)
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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 continued selling these remaining versions of

Queen Mab

until he was…

974 words

Citation: Sandy, Mark. "Queen Mab". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2505, accessed 19 March 2024.]

2505 Queen Mab 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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