<HTML><HEAD></HEAD>
<BODY dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
<DIV>So asks Florinda about “Adonais”.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>When I was growing up, our household did not approve of owning books (nor
excessive reading), so there were very few in our house: perhaps 25, which may
sound quite a lot, but I wasn’t aware that my father had the 3-vol. edn of “The
Modern Practical Plumber” (n.d. [1926]) packed away in the garage.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My mother did have a small, soft, furry-covered selection of Shelley’s
poems, obviously a gift book. Indeed it was, as it was given to her by her
best friend. It was a great disappointment, as my mother specifically
wanted the poems of Ella Wheeler Wilcox (see VW Essays 3, p.97). As a
child, I used to open it – perhaps it started with “To a Skylark” or “Ode to the
West Wind” – and I couldn’t get further than a few lines before giving up in
incomprehension.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Fancy giving someone like Florinda, “Adonais”. What a dick!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Stuart</DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>