author
Daniel J. MacDonald
b. 1881
A Nova Scotia priest and scholar, he wrote a careful early study of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s political and religious ideas. His best-known work grew out of doctoral research and reflects both literary curiosity and serious academic training.
1 Audiobook
The Radicalism of Shelley and Its Sources
by Daniel J. MacDonald
About the author
Born in Glassburn, Nova Scotia, on November 7, 1881, Daniel J. MacDonald studied at St. Francis Xavier University before entering the Propaganda College in Rome. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1904 and later continued advanced study in English literature.
His best-known book, The Radicalism of Shelley and Its Sources (1912), was submitted as a doctoral dissertation to the Catholic University of America. In it, he examined how Percy Bysshe Shelley’s religious and political views developed, showing a strong interest in literary history and ideas.
Available sources also indicate that MacDonald served as president of St. Francis Xavier University. He is remembered as both a clergyman and a scholar whose surviving reputation rests largely on this focused and thoughtful study of Shelley.