Shelley v. Westbrook

37 Eng. Rep. 850 (1817)

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Shelley v. Westbrook

England and Wales Court of Chancery
37 Eng. Rep. 850 (1817)

Facts

Percy Bysshe Shelley (plaintiff), the well-known poet, married Harriet Westbrook in 1811, when Shelley was 19 and Westbrook was 16. At the time of their marriage, Westbrook was pregnant with the couple’s first child, and the couple eloped to Scotland to escape England’s restrictions on underage marriages. Westbrook had two children with Shelley, who was notoriously unfaithful to her. Around 1814, Shelley began living openly with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, who would later become his second wife. John Westbrook (defendant), Harriet Westbrook’s father, brought suit against Shelley, seeking custody of Shelley’s two children. Harriet Westbrook and the two children lived with John Westbrook (defendant) before Harriet committed suicide by drowning herself. Shelley married Godwin shortly thereafter and brought a suit seeking the return of his two children so he could “educate them as he thought proper.” John Westbrook asserted that Shelley “avowed himself an atheist” and published a blasphemous work. John Westbrook further alleged Shelley had unlawfully cohabited with Godwin during his marriage, deserting Harriet Westbrook and the couple’s children. John Westbrook, having already provided money for the children’s maintenance and education in a trust, sought to keep the children from Shelley.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Lord Scott of Eldon, L.C.)

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