Rosalind and Helen

London: Ollier, 1819. First Edition. 1st edition. Gilt and inlaid crushed green morocco, signed by Riviere & Son in gilt on the turn-in. Inlaid morocco doublures, green silk moire endpapers, original wrappers preserved and bound in. Slightest bit of rubbing at the extremities, clean and fresh internally, near fine. Written after Shelley had left England for good and with a preface dated in Naples, December 20, 1818, Rosalind and Helen tells the story of two lovers (based on Percy and Mary Shelley) whose love is sacred and justified, though unconsecrated by marriage. One of the "Other Poems" included here is the well-known Ozymandias, a sonnet exploring the impermanence of grandeur (a piece apparently inspired by the British Museum's acquisition of a massive Egyptian statue of Ramesses II).