In their age, class origin, and preferences, Trelawny resembled Percy Shelley, whose attitude toward authority figures he began to emulate. Mary Shelley enjoyed his company, and she was fascinated by the stories that Trelawny told of his naval career. Trelawny was a figure of great interest to these Romantic friends, for his lack of wealth and education was offset by the adventurous experiences that he had lived through, and which Byron had only written about. In fact, Byron once described Trelawny as the "personification of my Corsair".