The Cenci was a verse drama by Percy Bysshe Shelley written in the summer of 1819, and inspired by a real Italian family, the Cencis (in particular, Beatrice Cenci).

The play was considered unperformable in its day due to its theme of incest, and was not performed in London until 1922.

It was included in the Harvard Classics as one of the most important and representative works of the western canon.

Alexandre Dumas also created a work called "The Cenci", though it is not as well known.

External links

• Text at Bartleby
• Article about play