![]() ![]() Memorial plaque to Allegra, Claire's daughter by Byron,Īt St. Byron (now living in Venice) rejected any further relationship with Claire, but demanded custody of his child. (The Godwins were kept in ignorance of the birth, and apparently were never to know of Claire's child). ![]() Ĭlaire conceived a child to Byron, and returned to England to give birth in January 1817 to a daughter she called Alba, later baptised Clara Allegra. During this time, Mary Shelley conceived the idea for her novel Frankenstein. They spent the summer near Geneva in a rented house next to Byron and his physician John Polidori. That summer of 1816, again travelling with the Shelleys (who needed her skill with languages), she persuaded them to meet up with Byron in Switzerland. Two years after her return to England, a bored and infatuated Claire threw herself into a liaison with the poet Lord Byron. Shelley took on the responsibility for supporting and providing for Claire, which he did faithfully until his death. When lack of money forced the trio to return to England, the Godwins failed to persuade Claire to come home. When Mary, not yet 17, eloped in 1814 with her father’s close friend, the married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, Claire went too, and traveled with them through France and Europe. Jane ‘Claire’ Clairmont developed a close relationship with her stepsister Mary. ![]()
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