The Paper Boat is a novel based on the life of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822). Shelley's relationship with his wife Mary is tender yet complicated and his alternative bond with the poet Lord Byron, an outrageous, extravagant character, is somewhat absurd yet courageous and intellectually provocative. The novel illustrates the fullness of the poet's character, a vibrant conflict between imagination and reality, and the radical pendulum of idealism in the Romantic era.