The Editor: Tilar J. Mazzeo is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh. She is the editor of several editions of Romantic-period works, including: Mary Shelley's Lives of the Most Eminent Literary . . . Men of Italy (forthcoming, Pickering and Chatto, 2002), a volume of Middle Eastern travel writing in the series Travels, Exploration, and Empire (Pickering and Chatto, 2001), and an edition of Thomas Medwin's roman a clef account of Claire Clairmont and Romantic manners, Lady Singleton. She is presently completing a book on plagiarism and intellectual property in the Romantic period.

The Text: This edition provides an introduction to Edward Williams's Indian travel journal, focusing on the role of exploration writing within the Shelley/Byron circle. Because the journal was circulated among the Shelley circle in Italy, Williams's journal is particularly relevant for our understanding of P.B. Shelley's attitudes toward India and empire. In addition to offering a consideration of the travel narrative within the Romantic cultural context, the introduction addresses the textual and historical concerns surrounding Bodleian MS Shelley adds.e.21 and its transmission within literary Romanticism. The edition includes the first complete edition of Williams's journal (including Bodleian MS Shelley adds.e.21), with complete editorial apparatus.

The Image: The image of the Mughal-era elephant and regal rider was taken from the photograph of a tapestry hanging (for sale) in a Paris store window. The photograph was taken by the technical editor of this edition, Joseph Byrne, and was edited further in Adobe Photoshop.

The Design: This hypertext edition was designed and marked up at the University of Maryland by Joseph Byrne, Site Manager at Romantic Circles. Making extensive use of tables and style sheets for layout and presentation, it will work best when viewed with Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator versions 5.0 and 4.7, respectively, and higher. The HTML markup is HTML 4.01/Transitional compliant, as set out by the World Wide Web Consortium.