Ariel (A Shelley Romance) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Fictionalized Literary Biography of a Radical Romantic Poet, His Loves, Ideals, Exile, and Doomed GeniusBy André Maurois
Length9h
About this audiobook
Ariel (A Shelley Romance) is André Maurois's elegant biographical novel of Percy Bysshe Shelley, tracing the poet's meteoric life through youthful rebellion, radical idealism, tangled loves, exile, and early death. Written with the psychological tact and narrative grace characteristic of interwar French biography, the book blends documented fact with novelistic immediacy, situating Shelley within the Romantic movement's cult of liberty, imagination, and doomed genius. Its style is lucid, ironic, and sympathetic, attentive equally to poetry, politics, and temperament. Maurois, born Émile Herzog in 1885, was a French novelist, critic, and biographer renowned for making literary lives intellectually serious yet accessible. His fascination with English culture, deepened by service as a liaison officer with the British army during the First World War, helped shape his portraits of British figures. In Shelley he found a subject ideally suited to his gifts: a visionary whose private contradictions illuminate the tensions of an age. This book is recommended to readers interested in Romantic poetry, literary biography, and the drama of artistic vocation. Maurois offers not a dry chronicle but a humane interpretation of Shelley's life, making Ariel both an introduction and a rewarding reconsideration.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.0 (223)
Includes Goodreads
GenreBiography and Memoir
Length9 hrs
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 8, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Ariel (A Shelley Romance) (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5Author Biography
Show all chaptersShow less
6PART I
7CHAPTER I KEATE’S WAY
8CHAPTER II THE HOME
9CHAPTER III THE CONFIDANT
10CHAPTER IV THE NEIGHBOURING PINE
11CHAPTER V QUOD ERAT DEMONSTRANDUM
12CHAPTER VI TIMOTHY SHELLEY’S VIGOROUS DIALECTICS
13CHAPTER VII AN ACADEMY FOR YOUNG LADIES
14CHAPTER VIII THIS DESPOTIC CHAIN ...
15CHAPTER IX A VERY YOUNG COUPLE
16CHAPTER X HOGG
17CHAPTER XI HOGG (continued)
18CHAPTER XII FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH MIDDLE AGE
19CHAPTER XIII SOAP BUBBLES
20CHAPTER XIV THE VENERATED FRIEND
21CHAPTER XV MISS HITCHENER
22CHAPTER XVI HARRIET
23CHAPTER XVII COMPARISONS
24CHAPTER XVIII SECOND INCARNATION OF THE GODDESS
25PART II
26CHAPTER XIX A SIX WEEKS’ TOUR
27CHAPTER XX THE PARIAHS
28CHAPTER XXI GODWIN
29CHAPTER XXII DON JUAN CONQUERED
30CHAPTER XXIII ARIEL AND DON JUAN
31CHAPTER XXIV GRAVES IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE
32CHAPTER XXV THE RULES OF THE GAME
33CHAPTER XXVI “QUEEN OF MARBLE AND OF MUD”
34CHAPTER XXVII THE ROMAN CEMETERY
35CHAPTER XXVIII “ANY WIFE TO ANY HUSBAND”
36CHAPTER XXIX THE CAVALIER’ SIRVENTE
37CHAPTER XXX A SCANDALOUS LETTER
38CHAPTER XXXI LORD BYRON’S SILENCE
39CHAPTER XXXII MIRANDA
40CHAPTER XXXIII THE DISCIPLES
41CHAPTER XXXIV II SAMUEL XII. 23
42CHAPTER XXXV THE REFUGE
43CHAPTER XXXVI ARIEL SET FREE
44CHAPTER XXXVII LAST LINKS
45Analysis
46Reflection
47Memorable Quotes
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