Thomas Medwin's Indian Journal and Shelley's ‘visioned wanderings’

Abstract

In his final years, Shelley's primary sources of information on India were the first-hand accounts of his friends, starting with Thomas Medwin. Following his return from India, Medwin revived his friendship with Shelley and they engaged in a creative exchange of ideas, criticism, and encouragement which began in their correspondence of 1819–1820, and developed during Medwin's stay with the Shelleys in Pisa from October 1820 to February 1821. Medwin reads from his Indian Journal and entertains Shelley with tales of India during his visit. Shelley assists him with the revision and publication of his Indian poems and, in the latter half, they work concurrently on two projects – Shelley's Epipsychidion and Medwin's article on the temple caves of Ellora for the Bibliothèque Universelle, based on extracts from his journal. There are significant correspondences between the works of both writers during this period and their intertextual relationship will also be examined.