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In 1821–1822, Mary Shelley explored Tuscan libraries, where she read useful documents for her novel Valperga, or, the life and adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca (1823), set in fourteenth-century Italy. In the last pages of an autographed notebook (Bodleian Library MS. Shelley adds. e. 17), Mary Shelley added several notes on medieval cities and episodes that she had discovered in Italian chronicles, such as Giovanni Villani’s Cronica (1348). She explained her writing methodology in a letter she sent to her friend Maria Gisborne in June 1821, where she describes her working habits in detail, from reading to correcting and transcribing the text. Her notes related to Dante’s characters from The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Canto 33; and Purgatorio, Canto 16) show her interest in medieval history and provide context for her accuracy in including two historical figures, Marco Lombardo and the Count Ugolino, in the world she recreated in her novel Valperga (1823).

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Historical Notes on Dante by Mary Shelley

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Eleonora Guidi

摘要

In 1821–1822, Mary Shelley explored Tuscan libraries, where she read useful documents for her novel Valperga, or, the life and adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca (1823), set in fourteenth-century Italy. In the last pages of an autographed notebook (Bodleian Library MS. Shelley adds. e. 17), Mary Shelley added several notes on medieval cities and episodes that she had discovered in Italian chronicles, such as Giovanni Villani’s Cronica (1348). She explained her writing methodology in a letter she sent to her friend Maria Gisborne in June 1821, where she describes her working habits in detail, from reading to correcting and transcribing the text. Her notes related to Dante’s characters from The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Canto 33; and Purgatorio, Canto 16) show her interest in medieval history and provide context for her accuracy in including two historical figures, Marco Lombardo and the Count Ugolino, in the world she recreated in her novel Valperga (1823).