Zastrozzi and St. Irvyne

Written by Shelley at the age of 17, these novels are of interest 200 years later as early artifacts of the age of the Gothic horror novel, an era that also produced the magnificent Frankenstein by Shelley's wife, Mary. A brief but complex tale of romance and revenge, Zastrozzi -- like its companion, St. Irvyne -- manifests the creative flair of its young author.