Percy Bysshe Shelley October. On 10December 1816 the body of Shelley's estranged wife Harriet was found in an advanced state of pregnancy, drowned in the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London. Shelley had made generous provision for Harriet and their children in his will and had paid her a monthly allowance as had her father. It is thought that Harriet, who had left her children with her sister Eliza and had been living alone under the name of Harriet Smith, mistakenly believed herself to have been abandoned by her new lover, 36-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Maxwell, who had been deployed abroad, after a landlady
The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley that were made often misled future biographers, although Hogg did preserve the originals as well. Hogg did not express much admiration for Shelley's poetry in the book. Many readers inferred from his description of Shelley that Hogg viewed him as a lady's man who was often irresponsible. Another irritation to many was that Hogg often boasted about himself in the book. He attempted to present himself as a sober and serious friend to an often foolish Percy Shelley. The book contained many descriptions of Shelley breaking appointments, borrowing money that he could not repay, and fabricating odd stories. Hogg did