Mary Shelley’s London

In 1814, the 22-year-old Percy Bysshe Shelley eloped with the 16-year-old Mary Shelley, taking Mary’s step-sister Claire Clairmont along as company. They travelled across to France and then Switzerland, before running out of both money and energy. On returning to Britain, they found themselves exiles in their own country, rejected by their families and having to dodge from lodging to lodging to avoid their creditors. The map tells the story of the struggle for survival of Shelley, Mary and Claire Claremont, as their Romantic idealism of a future built on free love and political justice came up against the brute reality of trying to subsist in early 19th century London.

The map measure 420 x 594 mm (16.5 x 23.4 inches) when open, and 148 x 210 mm (5.8 x 8.3 inches) when folded.

See more about Mary Shelley’s London on the digital Layers of London map