I was so exhilarated by seeing Field Place that the subsequent
sites I saw in Horsham and Warhnam—with the indispensable help of Brian, my
taxi driver—seemed anti-climactic. Which is a term, by the way, that adequately
describes the post-Shelley history of Field Place itself. In April 1844, when
Sir Timothy Shelley (Bysshe’s father) died at age 90 (almost an impossible age
in that century), the immediate heir was Mary’s son, Percy Florence Shelley. By
English law, Sir Timothy could not disinherit Percy—and he actually liked the
young man (who was about twenty-five when his grandfather died)—but he had
never forgiven Mary (had never even met
Mary—he refused to do so) or her radical father for what he viewed as the
corruption of his son. So, the terms of the will were rough—but legal.
But it didn’t much matter: Percy and his mother did not care for
Field Place (remote, for one thing—away from London’s allures), so Percy began
renting it out, and the estate was eventually cut considerably in size, sold
and resold. It’s currently in the hands of a Shelley-o-phile, however, who has,
says the ever-reliable Web, restored it to look much as it did in the eighteenth
century. (LINK to more information about the estate.)
And the money that was left after all bills were paid and terms of
the will satisfied was like a fortune to Mary and her son, who had been living austerely
on the tiny allowance from Sir Timothy—and on Mary’s writing of novels and
other freelance projects (more about them
later), efforts that never brought her much money. Now, with her son the heir, Mary
was able to live comfortably. But she had only seven years remaining in her
life.
After Field Place, Brian took me to a Shelley memorial in downtown
Horsham--to a mall formed by closing off streets. Called Rising Universe (and
executed by Angela Conner), it’s a large metal ball surrounded by a fountain. I
got splashed a little as I took some pictures, and Brian thought that was quite
amusing. Actually, he thought the sculpture itself was a bit amusing. My
journal says this: Brian laughed and made
a comment about modern art, about what it’s supposed to represent, etc.
Well … that’s not a very
helpful entry, is it? I, of course, cannot recall what he said at all, so Brian’s thoughts about modern
art are lost forever in the fountain’s mists.
I see on the Web that Rising
Universe had been there only two years when I visited in 1999.
(You'll need to click on the plaque and enlarge it to read it, I fear.)
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