
As SO SHELLY by Ty Roth (Delacorte 2011) opens, readers meet Gordon Byron and John Keats as they are stealing Shelly's ashes from the altar of the church where her funeral is being held. Shelly has left instructions for both of them, though separately. They are to head out to "her" island, spread her ashes, and listen to a CD she has made. Shelly, it seems, has thought of everything. This modern environment of he friendship among these writers of a bygone era follows some of the history the three shared in their lives. Setting the story in contemporary society will permit those who know the works of these three to see their timelessness in art and in personality. However, readers who are not privy to the past will also find much to appreciate here. <508>