Valperga, or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca
Mary Shelley1823

Originally published in 1823, Valperga is probably Mary Shelley's most neglected novel. Set in 14th-century Italy, it is an absorbing historical romance with intriguing feminist elements. Representative of the merging of historical romance with the literature of sentiment, this novel shows Shelley as a complex and intellectually astute thinker.