page_title: Edward John Trelawny
section_title: Pisa
hierarchical_section_title: Edward John Trelawny / Pisa
caption_attribution_description: English: Copy of an 1822 signature of Edward John Trelawny.
context_page_description: Edward John Trelawny was a British biographer, novelist and adventurer who is best known for his friendship with the Romantic poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. Trelawny was born in England to a family of modest income but extensive ancestral history. Though his father became wealthy while he was a child, Edward had an antagonistic relationship with him. After an unhappy childhood, he was sent away to a school. He was assigned as a volunteer in the Royal Navy shortly before he turned thirteen.
  Trelawny served on multiple ships as a naval volunteer while in his teen years. He traveled to India and saw combat during engagements with the French Navy. He did not care for the naval lifestyle, however, and left at nineteen years of age without becoming a commissioned officer. After retiring from the navy, he had a brief and unhappy marriage in England. He then moved to Switzerland and later Italy where he met Shelley and Byron. He became friends with the two poets, and helped teach them about sailing. He enjoyed inventing elaborate stories about his time in the navy, and in one he claimed to have deserted and become a pirate in India.
context_section_description: In early 1822 he travelled to Pisa to meet Edward Ellerker Williams and his wife Jane, Thomas Medwin, Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley, and Lord Byron. Trelawny greatly enjoyed meeting Percy and Mary Shelley after having looked forward to meeting them for some time. He also met Mary's half-sister Claire Clairmont. Trelawny began spending much of his time with Mary Shelley. He often accompanied her to parties because Percy Shelley hated to do so.
  Trelawny had many similarities to Percy Shelley, including the fact that he had the same class, age, and preferences. He began to emulate Shelley in some additional ways, such as his attitudes toward authority figures. Mary Shelley enjoyed his company, as well and was fascinated by the stories that Trelawny told of his naval career. Lord Byron was initially surprised by the resemblance Trelawny bore to some of the pirates that he had written about, and once described Trelawny as the "personification of my Corsair". In some ways, Trelawny did not fit in with his new friends due to his lack of wealth and education. He had had more adventurous experiences than his friends by that time, however. He often exaggerated these experiences in conversation, especially when discussing the details of his naval career.
  Trelawny invented a fictional story of his activities as a teenager. The story featured him deserting from the navy and traveling throughout Asia. During this time he claimed to have formed a band of pirates who fought against the British Navy. His descriptions of his adventures often included duels and romance, such as his marrying an Arab girl name Zella who was later poisoned by a jealous rival. These stories were often violent, but his friends found them exciting. Trelawny often used real events as the baseline for his stories, and then greatly embellished the events that actually took place. His biographers have been divided as to whether he intentionally exaggerated to create a persona or if he really came to believe the stories that he created.
  Trelawny greatly enjoyed his time in Pisa. He was active during his time there and practised boxing and fencing with his friends. He frequently attended theaters with them at night. He also enjoyed listening to Jane Williams sing and play songs with the guitar that Shelley had given to her.
  In March Trelawny was involved in a high-profile confrontation that took place while he was travelling with Byron, Shelley, and some of their friends. The incident began when an Italian soldier confronted Count John Taafe, who was travelling with Shelley, Trelawny, Byron, and Byron's entourage. Although Shelley was slightly wounded as he fell from his horse chasing after the soldier, one of Byron's servants later caught the soldier and wounded him severely. The incident was controversial and received a significant amount of publicity in Pisa. This was in part due to the anti-English sentiment that existed there at that time. After a lengthy investigation by the Italian authorities, Trelawny and his friends were cleared of all charges that had been pending against them.
  Shelley and Edward Williams had wanted to begin sailing for some time, and Trelawny used his naval experience to help them make plans. Together they decided to have an American-style schooner constructed; he had often observed this type of boat during his time in the navy. After Shelley and Williams had constructed their boat, the Don Juan, Trelawny was hired by Byron to be the Captain of his vessel, the Bolivar. Trelawny also moved into a room in Byron's mansion at that time. Trelawny's friend Daniel Roberts designed and supervised the construction of both vessels. The construction of the Bolivar cost £750, a sum which Byron found irritatingly high.
  Trelawny had planned to accompany the Don Juan in the Bolivar during the voyage in which the Don Juan sank. He was held back by the Port Authority because he was not carrying his port clearance with him, though he had sailed without bringing his clearance several times in the past. After Shelley and Williams did not return to their home 
caption: Copy of an 1822 signature of Edward John Trelawny indicating he was a captain.
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