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Quiz about Shelley  Mary  Byron  Claire
Quiz about Shelley  Mary  Byron  Claire

Shelley & Mary & Byron & Claire Quiz


If poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife Mary were alive today, their bios would sound like a "True Hollywood Story" episode on E! And so does this quiz about them and their inner circle. How much dirt can you dish?

A multiple-choice quiz by gretas. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Author
gretas
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
244,437
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
831
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
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Question 1 of 10
1. Young, rebellious, and ostracized from his rich Sussex family, poetical genius Percy Bysshe Shelley meets his future wife Mary at her father's house in London in 1815. He later tells a friend that he fell in love with the fair-haired, intellectual 17-year-old Mary at first sight, adding that when he first saw her, she was wearing an unusual item of clothing. What was Mary wearing on that fateful day? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. From the start of their relationship, Mary and Shelley are a controversial pair, largely due to the fact that Shelley already has a wife named Harriet. It isn't until Harriet's death two years later that Shelley and Mary are free to wed. How did the first Mrs. Shelley meet her end? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Just weeks after promising her father that she will ditch bad boy Shelley, Mary accompanies him on a "midnight elopement" to France. Making matters worse, Mary's stepsister Claire Claremont joins them on their wild flight. What does Claire later give as the reason she was asked to go along? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. On returning to London from France, Shelley, Mary, and Claire are social outcasts forced to live a hand to mouth existence. They rent a house in a quiet part of the city where they spend their time writing, reading, and hiding from creditors. But lack of money doesn't stop the adventurous Claire from starting an affair with London's most celebrated poet, Lord Byron. How did Claire and Byron meet? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. During a visit to Lord Byron's chateau in Geneva, Switzerland, Mary conceives the idea for the book that will become popularly known as "Frankenstein." But Claire has already conceived her own project with the help of Lord Byron. What was Claire's project? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In 1819, the Shelleys and Claire travel to Italy where they become notorious expatriates living together in a succession of cities and locations. At the start of their journey, they have three children between them. But what tragic Shelleyan event soon befell the children? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Shelley's poetical output soars during his self-exile in Italy, resulting in some of his best and most enduring work. However, things go from bad to worse between him and wife Mary. Which of the following issues do historians NOT consider to be a contributing factor in the rift? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. One of Shelley's greatest pleasures while in Italy is sailing, even though he is an avowed non-swimmer. When he buys his own boat, his friend Lord Byron has a name painted on its sails, which Shelley later changes to "Ariel." What name did Byron originally give Shelley's famous boat? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Who among the four people featured in this quiz (see title) was the only NON-vegetarian? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. After Shelley drowns in a storm on the Mediterranean on July 8,1822, Mary returns to London with their son, Percy Florence. Claire continues to live in Europe, and Byron goes off to train Greek soldiers. What became of Shelley's body? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Young, rebellious, and ostracized from his rich Sussex family, poetical genius Percy Bysshe Shelley meets his future wife Mary at her father's house in London in 1815. He later tells a friend that he fell in love with the fair-haired, intellectual 17-year-old Mary at first sight, adding that when he first saw her, she was wearing an unusual item of clothing. What was Mary wearing on that fateful day?

Answer: A kilt

When Percy Bysshe Shelley first met love-of-his-life Mary Wollstencraft Godwin, she had just returned home from a visit with family friends in Scotland and was dressed in a kilt they had given her. It might seem an odd choice for household attire, but the Godwins were a well-known literary family, given to eccentricties of ideas and lifestyle.

In fact, Mary's father, William Godwin wrote "Political Justice" the book that inspired Shelley to rebel against his own rich, conventional-minded family and pursue a career as a politically driven, socially passionate poet.
2. From the start of their relationship, Mary and Shelley are a controversial pair, largely due to the fact that Shelley already has a wife named Harriet. It isn't until Harriet's death two years later that Shelley and Mary are free to wed. How did the first Mrs. Shelley meet her end?

Answer: Committed suicide

Harriet Westbrook Shelley was a mere 16 years of age when she and Shelley fled London to marry against the wishes of both of their families. The daughter of a wealthy wine merchant, Harriet soon abandoned her bourgeois ways and embraced Shelley's arty, 'counterculture' lifetsyle, giving him two children before he left her for Mary.

Not long afterward, Harriet committed suicide by jumping into the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park. Although subsequently dismissed by Shelley enthusiasts who saw her as a vapid "first love" unable to sustain Shelley's interest, Harriet did have some notable supporters. American humorist and author Mark Twain even wrote an essay detailing her plight, entitled "In Defense of Harriet."
3. Just weeks after promising her father that she will ditch bad boy Shelley, Mary accompanies him on a "midnight elopement" to France. Making matters worse, Mary's stepsister Claire Claremont joins them on their wild flight. What does Claire later give as the reason she was asked to go along?

Answer: She speaks French

Vivacious, outspoken, dark-haired Claire Claremont was "third wheel" to Shelley and Mary from the start. She later told friends that the couple took her to France with them because they needed someone who spoke fluent French to act as a translator. In fact, Claire showed clear signs of being in love with Shelley herself and has even been "accused" of having had his baby in secret while she, he and Mary were all living in Italy. Only a year younger than Mary, Claire (formerly Mary Ann) Claremont was both an integral part of the Shelleys' lives and one of its biggest frustrations.
4. On returning to London from France, Shelley, Mary, and Claire are social outcasts forced to live a hand to mouth existence. They rent a house in a quiet part of the city where they spend their time writing, reading, and hiding from creditors. But lack of money doesn't stop the adventurous Claire from starting an affair with London's most celebrated poet, Lord Byron. How did Claire and Byron meet?

Answer: She wrote him a fan letter

Claire was no slouch when it came to going after what she wanted. Determined to meet famous, handsome Lord Byron, she wrote a letter to him in the guise of an aspiring actress who needed career advice. Since Byron was on the board of Drury Lane Theater, he invited her down for an audition. Claire accepted the invitation, thus sparking the brief, infamous love affair that ended in hatred and tragedy on both sides.
5. During a visit to Lord Byron's chateau in Geneva, Switzerland, Mary conceives the idea for the book that will become popularly known as "Frankenstein." But Claire has already conceived her own project with the help of Lord Byron. What was Claire's project?

Answer: A baby she will name Allegra

By the time the Shelleyan circle spent their famous night at Byron's chateau in Geneva, Byron and Claire's romance was history. Unfortunately, Claire was already pregnant with Byron's child, which posed a major problem for a young unwed woman in the Georgian era. Ultimately, the Shelleys came up with the idea of pretending to be the guardians of the new baby, with Claire posing as its nanny.

It was a conceit they maintained until Claire gave custody of the child to Byron, who installed her in an Italian convent where she died of influenza at the age of six.
6. In 1819, the Shelleys and Claire travel to Italy where they become notorious expatriates living together in a succession of cities and locations. At the start of their journey, they have three children between them. But what tragic Shelleyan event soon befell the children?

Answer: All three died

Before the trio left for Italy, the Shelleys lost their first child to SIDS. While in Italy, their baby daughter Clara died of fever, a year before their beloved son William died of a similar illness. Claire's daughter Allegra died of influenza three years later.

In the end, there was but one child, Percy Florence, who was born only months before his father's death on July 8, 1822. At 25, Mary had lost three children and a husband. She never fully recovered from the pain of her children's deaths, nor did she ever marry again.
7. Shelley's poetical output soars during his self-exile in Italy, resulting in some of his best and most enduring work. However, things go from bad to worse between him and wife Mary. Which of the following issues do historians NOT consider to be a contributing factor in the rift?

Answer: Shelley's heavy drinking

Although often portrayed in films as a wild, hedonistic drunk, Shelley was a near-teetotaller who chastised others for excessive drinking. Claire's constant presence in the household was a thorn in Mary's side from the start, a problem exacerbated by Claire's dramatic ups and downs with ex-lover Byron.

Shelley's frequent "emotional affairs" with other women were also a trial for Mary, although Shelley blamed his wandering eye on her coldness and depression after the loss of their children.
8. One of Shelley's greatest pleasures while in Italy is sailing, even though he is an avowed non-swimmer. When he buys his own boat, his friend Lord Byron has a name painted on its sails, which Shelley later changes to "Ariel." What name did Byron originally give Shelley's famous boat?

Answer: The Don Juan

Byron's negative feelings about Claire didn't stop him from maintaining a rocky, but intense friendship with Shelley. The two men spent many hours together, discussing poetry, shooting pistols (Shelley was a crack shot), and riding horses. But it was Shelley's love of sailing that brought them together on a truly fateful level.

After Shelley bought the boat on which he would later drown, Byron had "The Don Juan" painted on its sails in honor of his recently published epic poem. But Shelley had the name washed off in favor of "Ariel", the name of a fairy in his first major poem, "Queen Mab."
9. Who among the four people featured in this quiz (see title) was the only NON-vegetarian?

Answer: Byron

Shelley's first major poem, "Queen Mab", contained a detailed treatise on the positive effects of a vegetarian diet, whch Shelley followed despite a natural tendency toward "delicate health". After meeting Shelley, Mary and Claire became vegetarians as well, presumably for the rest of their lives. Byron, however, chastised the trio for their rejection of meat, going so far as to denounce their vegetarianism as "heathen".

He once angrily told Claire that he did not want their daughter, Allegra brought up on "green vegetables."
10. After Shelley drowns in a storm on the Mediterranean on July 8,1822, Mary returns to London with their son, Percy Florence. Claire continues to live in Europe, and Byron goes off to train Greek soldiers. What became of Shelley's body?

Answer: It was cremated

After Shelley's drowned body was recovered from the Mediterranean near Livorno, Italy, it was burned on the beach in accordance with Italian laws established to decrease the spread of disease. As it burned, family friend Leigh Hunt suddenly ran over and snatched the blackened heart from the smoldering chest cavity.

He kept the heart for years before finally honoring Mary's repeated request that he give it to her. Coda: Four years after Shelley's death in 1822, Byron died of fever in Greece. Mary died in England at the age of 54, a celebrated writer and famous widow. Claire outlived them all, dying in her 80s, never having returned to England.

Her epitaph, which she wrote, said: "She spent her life expatiating not only her faults, but her virtues." Adeiu!
Source: Author gretas

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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