Zastrozzi (Hesperus Classics) [Paperback]

Percy Bysshe Shelley (Author), Germaine Greer (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002 | Series: Hesperus Classics

Zastrozzi, Shelley’s first published novel, is a work of pure Gothic fantasy, offering many glimpses of the author’s nascent poetic genius. Zastrozzi, the arch-villain of the tale, is sworn to avenge the wrongs done to his mother. Prepared to go to any lengths to execute his horrific plans, he enlists the help of the willing Matilda. Together, they vow to destroy Verezzi and Julia, the subjects of their wrath, and embark upon a fateful chain of events that can lead only to catastrophe.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Hesperus Press, as suggested by their Latin motto, Et remotissima prope, is dedicated to bringing near what is far—far both in space and time. Works by illustrious authors, often unjustly neglected or simply little known in the English–speaking world, are made accessible through a completely fresh editorial approach or new translations. Through these short classic works, which feature forewords by leading contemporary authors, the modern reader will be introduced to the greatest writers of Europe and America. An elegantly designed series of exceptional books.

About the Author

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a major figure among the English Romantics. Primarily a poet, he also wrote a number of essays, letters and other prose works. Born in Australia, writer and feminist Germaine Greer is most famous for the hugely influential feminist treatise: The Female Eunuch.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Hesperus Press (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843910292
• ISBN-13: 978-1843910299
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,439,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gothic Horror Masterpiece, December 1, 2007

By 

Carl Savich (Detroit, MI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zastrozzi (Hesperus Classics) (Paperback)

Zastrozzi: A Romance (1810) is a Gothic horror novel masterpiece by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Zastrozzi was the first publushed work by Shelley in 1810. He wrote Zastrozzi when he was seventeen and a student at Eton. People remember Percy Bysshe Shelley today as a poet who wrote Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, The Cenci, Prometheus Unbound, and The Masque of Anarchy. Shelley began his literary career, however, with the publication of two Gothic horror romance novels, Zastrozzi in 1810 and St. Irvyne in 1811. Shelley is regarded as one of the greatest poets in the English language. His prose writings, however, have been neglected and overlooked.

Zastrozzi is about obsession, revenge, and the agony of unrequited love. Zastrozzi first kidnaps Verezzi and imprisons him in a dungeon. Bernardo and Ugo guard him. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against Verezzi to avenge his mother. Matilda is obsessively in love with Verezzi. Verezzi, however, is in love with Julia. Zastrozzi manipulates Matilda to destroy Verezzi. He exploits Matilda's obsessive love for Verezzi to destroy both.

Zastrozzi is a complex psychological thriller. The story is not a simple tale about good versus evil. Zastrozzi goes beyond good and evil. Zastrozzi is a precursor of the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Friedrich Nietzsche. Zastrozzi is a precursor of Rodion Raskolnikov of Crime and Punishment and Also Sprach Zarathustra. He is a superman who dismisses ordinary morality. He is an atheist for whom all is permitted. Zastrozzi is a demi-god, an assassin, who creates his own values and laws and morality.

Zastrozzi is a tale of pure horror. Zastrozzi is not satiated to kill merely the body. He seeks to kill the soul. Death is not the worst that can happen. He keeps Verezzi alive to be able to inflict unspeakable tortures on him and to terrorize and to manipulate him. Zastrozzi seeks to punish not only the alleged wrongdoer, but to punish their progeny as well. Ironically, Verezzi and Zastrozzi may have had the same father. Verezzi is his brother. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against his own father, his human Creator. It is a revolt against God. Zastrozzi is angry with God and seeks to create his own reality, his own world. He becomes a god himself. The inquisition has no terrors for him. Death has no terror for him. He creates his own values and morality. He can do whatever he wishes with other human beings. He decides their fate, whether they will live or die. Zastrozzi reaches the limits of human horror and depravity and terror.

Man rejects God and becomes a god himself. God is dead. This theme was later central to the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Shelley's wife Mary Shelley. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the preface to that novel in 1818 published anonymously and according to John Lauritsen in The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein (2007), Percy Bysshe Shelley was the real author of Frankenstein. At the very least, Percy contributed major portions to that novel which shows his influence on every page.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a revolutionary visionary and firebrand who pushed the boundaries in literature and in his life. Zastrozzi reflects his artistic vision. The themes and central ideas of Zastrozzi are ones that would reappear. Zastrozzi is an unfairly overlooked and ignored Gothic horror masterpeice by one of the greatest Romantic writers.

Zastrozzi is highly recommended. The Hesperus paperback edition is an excellent format for the novel.

5.0 out of 5 stars Gothic Masterpiece, April 4, 2009

By 

Carl Savich (Detroit, MI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zastrozzi (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

Zastrozzi: A Romance (1810) is a Gothic horror novel masterpiece by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Zastrozzi was the first publushed prose work by Shelley in 1810. He wrote Zastrozzi when he was seventeen and a student at Eton. People remember Percy Bysshe Shelley today as a poet who wrote Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, the 1819 tragic play The Cenci, Prometheus Unbound, and The Masque of Anarchy. Shelley began his literary career, however, with the publication of two Gothic horror romance novels, Zastrozzi, A Romance in 1810 and St. Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian, A Romance in 1811. Shelley is regarded as one of the greatest poets in the English language. His prose writings, however, have been neglected and overlooked.

Zastrozzi is about obsession, revenge, and the agony of unrequited love. Zastrozzi first kidnaps Verezzi and imprisons him in a dungeon. Bernardo and Ugo guard him. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against Verezzi to avenge his mother. Matilda is obsessively in love with Verezzi. Verezzi, however, is in love with Julia. Zastrozzi manipulates Matilda to destroy Verezzi. He exploits Matilda's obsessive love for Verezzi to destroy both.

Zastrozzi is a complex psychological thriller. The story is not a simple tale about good versus evil. Zastrozzi goes beyond good and evil. Zastrozzi is a precursor of the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Friedrich Nietzsche. Zastrozzi is a precursor of Rodion Raskolnikov of Crime and Punishment and Also Sprach Zarathustra. He is a superman who dismisses ordinary morality. He is an atheist for whom all is permitted. Zastrozzi is a demi-god, an assassin, who creates his own values and laws and morality.

Zastrozzi is a tale of pure horror. Zastrozzi is not satiated to kill merely the body. He seeks to kill the soul. Death is not the worst that can happen. He keeps Verezzi alive to be able to inflict unspeakable tortures on him and to terrorize and to manipulate him. Zastrozzi seeks to punish not only the alleged wrongdoer, but to punish their progeny as well. Ironically, Verezzi and Zastrozzi may have had the same father. Verezzi is his half-brother. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against his own father, his human Creator. It is a revolt against God, against the father, against the Creator. This is a theme that would reappear in his 1819 tragic play The Cenci, and also in Frankenstein. Zastrozzi is angry with God and seeks to create his own reality, his own world. He becomes a god himself. The inquisition has no terrors for him. Death has no terror for him. He creates his own values and morality. He can do whatever he wishes with other human beings. He decides their fate, whether they will live or die. Zastrozzi reaches the limits of human horror and depravity and terror.

Man rejects God and becomes a god himself. God is dead. This theme was later central to the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Shelley's wife Mary Shelley. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the preface to that novel in 1818 published anonymously and according to John Lauritsen in The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein (2007), Percy Bysshe Shelley was the real author of Frankenstein. At the very least, Percy contributed major portions to that novel which shows his influence on every page.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a revolutionary visionary and firebrand who pushed the boundaries in literature and in his life. Zastrozzi reflects his artistic vision. The themes and central ideas of Zastrozzi are ones that would reappear. Zastrozzi is an unfairly overlooked and ignored Gothic horror masterpeice by one of the greatest Romantic writers.

Zastrozzi was reprinted in 1839 in The Romancist and Novelist's Library and was successfully adapted into a play in 1977 by Canadian playwright George F. Walker and turned into a British television mini-series in 1986 starring Academy Award-winning actress Tilda Swinton as Julia.

Zastrozzi is highly recommended. The Dodo Press paperback version is an excellent new edition of the novel.

5.0 out of 5 stars Shelley Gothic Horror Classic, December 4, 2007

By 

Carl Savich (Detroit, MI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zastrozzi (Paperback)

Zastrozzi: A Romance (1810) and St. Irvyne (1811)are Gothic horror novel masterpieces by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Zastrozzi was the first publushed work by Shelley in 1810. He wrote Zastrozzi when he was seventeen and a student at Eton. People remember Percy Bysshe Shelley today as a poet who wrote Ozymandias, Ode to a Skylark, Prometheus Unbound, and The Masque of Anarchy. Shelley began his literary career, however, with the publication of two Gothic horror romance novels, Zastrozzi in 1810 and St. Irvyne in 1811. Shelley is regarded as one of the greatest poets in the English language. His prose writings, however, have been neglected and overlooked. This is an excellent edition of Zastrozzi: A Romance and is highly recommended.

Zastrozzi is about obsession, revenge, and the agony of unrequited love. Zastrozzi first kidnaps Verezzi and imprisons him in a dungeon. Bernardo and Ugo guard him. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against Verezzi to avenge his mother. Matilda is obsessively in love with Verezzi. Verezzi, however, is in love with Julia. Zastrozzi manipulates Matilda to destroy Verezzi. He exploits Matilda's obsessive love for Verezzi to destroy both.

The novel begins with a dramatic bang as Zastrozzi's men kidnap Verezzi and tie him up and then chain him in a dungeon. He goes through intense agonies as worms infest his hair and he faces starvation. He escapes but then meets up with Matilda, whom he saves from suicide, who is obsessed with Verezzi. He is then brainwashed and terrorized and manipulated into renouncing his love for Julia. Verezzi goes through intense psychological torture at the hands of Zastrozzi and Matilda. They are both manipulated by Zastrozzi.

Zastrozzi is a complex psychological thriller. The story is not a simple tale about good versus evil. Zastrozzi goes beyond good and evil. Zastrozzi is a precursor of the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Friedrich Nietzsche. Zastrozzi is a precursor of Rodion Raskolnikov of Crime and Punishment and Also Sprach Zarathustra. He is a superman who dismisses ordinary morality. He is an atheist for whom all is permitted. Zastrozzi is a demi-god, an assassin, who creates his own values and laws and morality. The theme is similar to the later unfinished Shelley novella "The Assassins", about a religious sect that plans to create a utopia by assassinating all the tyrannical and corrupt leaders in the world.

Zastrozzi is a tale of pure horror. Zastrozzi is not satiated to kill merely the body. He seeks to kill the soul. Death is not the worst that can happen. He keeps Verezzi alive to be able to inflict unspeakable tortures on him and to terrorize and to manipulate him. Zastrozzi seeks to punish not only the alleged wrongdoer, but to punish their progeny as well. Ironically, Verezzi and Zastrozzi may have had the same father. Verezzi is his brother. Zastrozzi seeks revenge against his own father, his human Creator. It is a revolt against God. Zastrozzi is angry with God and seeks to create his own reality, his own world. He becomes a god himself. The inquisition has no terrors for him. Death has no terror for him. He creates his own values and morality. He can do whatever he wishes with other human beings. He decides their fate, whether they will live or die. Zastrozzi reaches the limits of human horror and depravity and terror.

Man rejects God and becomes a god himself. God is dead. This theme was later central to the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Shelley's wife Mary Shelley. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote the preface to that novel in 1818 published anonymously and according to John Lauritsen in The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein (2007), Percy Bysshe Shelley was the real author of Frankenstein. At the very least, Percy contributed major portions to that novel which shows his influence on every page. It is known for a fact that Percy Shelley wrote the preface that explained the novel and how it was written. He also wrote at least a thousand plus words to Frankenstein that are known by examining the manuscript. Lauritsen shows convincingly that many of the themes, ideas, cadences, literary style, that are present in the novel Frankenstein are those associated with Percy Shelley: male friendship, the Prometheus link, the John Milton connection, the idea of atheism and a rejection of God, man becoming God, revolution, the power of nature, and science transforming man. Percy Shelley's influence is all over Frankenstein.

In 1977, Canadian playwright George F. Walker wrote a successful dramatic play adaptation of the novel that is still performed today. It was staged in Arkansas in the US this year. It has become a classic. In 1986, David Hopkins adapted the Shelley novel for a four-part mini-series for Britain TV. The company that produced the film was Channel Four Film in the UK. The novel has achieved a cult classic status.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a revolutionary visionary and firebrand who pushed the boundaries in literature and in his life. Zastrozzi reflects his artistic vision. The themes and central ideas of Zastrozzi are ones that would reappear. Zastrozzi is an unfairly overlooked and ignored Gothic horror masterpeice by one of the greatest Romantic writers.

Zastrozzi is highly recommended. This is an excellent version of the novel first published in London in 1810.