On the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, comes a riveting biography of its author, Mary Shelley, whose life reads like a dark gothic novel, filled with scandal, death, drama, and one of the strangest love stories in literary history.

The story of Frankenstein’s creator is a strange, romantic, and tragic one, as deeply compelling as the novel itself. Mary ran away to Lake Geneva with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley when she was just sixteen. It was there, during a cold and wet summer, that she first imagined her story about a mad scientist who brought a corpse back to life. Success soon followed for Mary, but also great tragedy and misfortune.
Catherine Reef brings this passionate woman, brilliant writer, and forgotten feminist into crisp focus, detailing a life that was remarkable both before and after the publication of her iconic masterpiece. Includes index.

Out September, 2018

MY THOUGHTS:

I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a biography of an extraordinary woman who accomplished something during a time that was seldom heard of.  The motivation behind her work is clearly dictated by her past, previous relationship and issues of mental illness.  However, the end result of her work will go on to become great classics of both intuition and imagination combined.

I read this book in one sitting and was pleasantly surprised to see that the author left out many of Mary’s darker rumored experiences and stayed to the facts.  There are many drier versions of Mary’s biography out there, but this one was both entertaining, informative and smooth in its deliverance. Loved the book!