Frankenstein: Suggested Resources

Mary Shelley grew up amid the literary and political avant-garde of early-nineteenth-century London. Her escape to France at seventeen with the married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley caused great scandal at home. They ultimately settled in Switzerland where, in 1816, they rented a villa near Lord Byron's on Lake Geneva. In a famous night of eerie thunderstorms, they told ghost stories and tales of horror, giving birth to the idea of Frankenstein. The Mary we meet here, brilliantly brought to life by Seymour from previously unexplored sources, is flawed, brave, generous, and ultimately struck by tragedy: she came to lose three of her four children in infancy, and when she was twenty-four Shelley drowned off the coast of Italy. Gracefully moving through the dramatic life of the woman behind history's most legendary monster, Miranda Seymour unbuttons a world of brilliant literary figures and vividly re-creates the imaginative time in which "Frankenstein" was born. -- From publisher's description.

We know the facts of Mary Shelley's life in some detail -- the death of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, within days of her birth; the upbringing in the house of her father, William Godwin, in a house full of radical thinkers, poets, philosophers, and writers; her elopement, at the age of seventeen, with Percy Shelley; the years of peripatetic travel across Europe that followed. But there has been no literary biography written this century, and previous books have ignored the real person -- what she actually thought and felt and why she did what she did. In this probing narrative, Fiona Sampson pursues Mary Shelley through her turbulent life, much as Victor Frankenstein tracked his monster across the arctic wastes. Sampson has written a book that finally answers the question of how it was that a nineteen-year-old came to write a novel so dark, mysterious, anguished, and psychologically astute that it continues to resonate two centuries later. -- From publisher's description.

In 1797 an extraordinary visionary died, leaving behind a grieving husband, a two-year-old daughter, and a newborn. The woman was Mary Wollstonecraft, her daughter Fanny Imlay, and her baby Mary Godwin, who, through many trials and tribulations, grew up to become the remarkable Mary Shelley, creator of one of the most important books in literature: Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus. While many books have examined both women's lives, their remarkable similarities, their passions, joys, and their grief, A Vindication of Monsters: Essays on Mary Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft, delves deeper into the stories behind both women, their connections to historical events, society, their philosophies, and their political contributions to their time. These essays and memoirs explore Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, and Shelley's circle of friends, including her husband, the capricious poet Percy Shelley; the libertine Romantic Lord Byron; the first modern vampire author John Polidori; and other contemporary creatives who continue to be inspired by both women today. While the private lives of both trailblazing women were the subject of heated debate and drama, with both fighting against the injustices of their time, the selected sixteen authors explore their lives like never before, including the genesis of Frankenstein, and the powerful literary and feminist legacy they left behind.

This indispensable guide to the major fictional works of Mary Shelley moves beyond viewing the interpretations and reception of her writing in terms of her life and the lives of those within her circle. Graham Allen presents both an introduction to and review of the critical responses to Shelley's work, from the Romantic period to the present day, while also asking provocative questions and pushing debates forward. Approachable and stimulating, this book is essential reading for anyone studying Mary Shelley or literary Romanticism, encouraging a new phase of critical engagement with Shelley's work. -- From publisher's description.

In "The Cambridge Companion to Mary Shelley," leading scholars discuss Mary Shelley's work in several fascinating contexts: literary history, aesthetic and literary culture, the legacies of her parents William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, and of course the life and afterlife of her most famous work, "Frankenstein." -- From publisher's description.

Traces the life of Mary Shelley, describes her relationship with her husband and fellow writers, and discusses her major writings.

Mary Shelley provides a detailed study of the famous author's extensive contribution to the Gothic genre. Angela Wright examines the key novels alongside the short stories, revealing how the Gothic themes and motifs that energised Frankenstein resurface in some of Shelley's later works.