Edward John Trelawny was born in London in 1792 and entered the Royal Navy at the age of eleven only to desert and lead a life of adventure, as recorded in his partly fictitious Adventures of a Younger Son. In 1822 he met Shelley and Byron in Pisa. After Shelley's death he supervised the cremation of his body and helped to raise enough money to allow Mary Shelley to return to England. In 1823 he went to Greece with Byron to assist in the struggle for Greek independence.
"In 'his' Byron and Shelley [Trelawny] created two figures that in
their compelling solidity are fit to stand alongside any literary
memoir short of Boswell’s Johnson." —David Crane, Lord Byron’s
Jackal
"Your portrait of Shelley is full of truth—it is him in all his
unaffectedness, in his simple tastes so fond of woods, seas, lakes,
mountains; of birds and of music. There was in his manner of
speaking, a touch of the woman, even of the girl...that appears
most vividly in your description." —Claire Clairmont, Letter to
Trelawny
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