THE PAPER BOAT: A novel on the life and works of Percy Bysshe Shelley

The Paper Boat is a novel based on the life and work of the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822). The novel begins in Pisa, Italy, nine months before Shelley’s death and flashes back to trace his vigorous interior and multifarious exterior life. The book exhibits extensive and thorough research and although most of the scenes stem from accurate historical facts, it is a work of fiction. Shelley’s relationship with his wife Mary is tender yet complicated by financial hardship, constant relocation and the loss of four children. Shelley’s alternative bond with the poet Lord Byron, an outrageous, extravagant character, is somewhat absurd yet courageous and intellectually provocative. The novel illustrates the fullness of the poet’s character; a vibrant conflict between imagination and reality, and the radical pendulum of idealism in the Romantic era. Shelley’s life ended tragically and my telling of his story reads with compelling passion, darkness, much light, humor and delight.