Doctor Who Series 12: Ten Huge Questions After The Haunting Of Villa Diodati
6. How Did Shelley Die In Real Life?
In order to expel the Cyberium from Shelley, the Doctor tricks it into thinking he has died. Shelley’s mind experiences his final minutes and we see him under water. In reality Percy Shelley did indeed drown, a few weeks before his thirtieth birthday in a sailing accident in the Gulf of La Spezia. There was much speculation about what caused the vessel to sink, but in another sign of his closeness to Byron, the boat was named Don Juan.
It is a neat nod to the history behind the story, one of many marks of authenticity, but the cruelty of the Doctor’s method is the real talking point here. It is also interesting to see it coming a week after she avoided talking to Graham about his fears that the cancer would return. Being able to know how and when your friends will die cannot be a good thing, even for a Time Lord.
And what of Shelley? Would this revelation not potentially change history, the very thing the Doctor is so desperate to avoid? When the storm struck, Shelley was returning from Leghorn where he had just set up the magazine The Liberal. His commitment to that cause trumped any fears he might have had.