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Mary Wollstonecraft #2
The Nightmare
Rebel with Many Causes Dismissed from her governess post in Ireland, Mary Wollstonecraft lands on her feet in London. After the 1792 publication of her ground-breaking Vindication of the Rights of Woman she gains entree to a circle of celebrated artists and intellectuals. But Mary falls into obsession and infatuation with painter Henry Fuseli after his hauntingly erotic masterpiece The Nightmare is stolen. When a young artist is wrongfully accused and imprisoned, and a bluestocking friend is strangled, Mary's passionate nature does not allow her to stand aside. Her quest for the truth will lead her into personal notoriety, a trip to a madhouse, and confrontations with more than one possible murderer."
264 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
215 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Means Wright
30 books32 followers I'm the author of 18 books of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, including 5 mystery novels from St. Martin's Press, 2 historical novels: Midnight Fires: a Mystery with Mary Wollstonecraft ('10)and the Nightmare ('11)from Perseverance Press.For those who don't know her, Wollstonecraft is the brilliant but rebellious and conflicted 18th century author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,and mother of Mary Shelley (think Frankenstein).
I've also published 2 mysteries for kids. The Pea Soup Poisonings, based on my own 4 kids'childhood shenanigans, won the '06 Agatha Award for Best Children's/YA Novel,and The Great Circus Train Robbery was a finalist. My latest mystery is Broken Strings, a spin-off from my St. Martin's Press novels with a puppeteer sleuth, and a novel, Walking up into the Wild for "tweens" (ages 10-14, set in 18th-century Vermont just before the end of the American Revolution. It's both suspenseful and romantic and based on family history. Not a mystery.
I've published poems and short fiction for Redbook, Seventeen, American Literary Review,Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, and many literary journals and anthologies (Beacon Press, Ashland Poetry Press, Univ of Illinois Press, et al.).
A longtime actress & director,I'm a former Bread Loaf Scholar and Scholar for the Vermont Humanities Council. I live with my spouse and 2 Maine Coon cats in bucolic Middlebury, Vermont. "Becoming Mary Wollstonecraft" Facebook page.
I've also published 2 mysteries for kids. The Pea Soup Poisonings, based on my own 4 kids'childhood shenanigans, won the '06 Agatha Award for Best Children's/YA Novel,and The Great Circus Train Robbery was a finalist. My latest mystery is Broken Strings, a spin-off from my St. Martin's Press novels with a puppeteer sleuth, and a novel, Walking up into the Wild for "tweens" (ages 10-14, set in 18th-century Vermont just before the end of the American Revolution. It's both suspenseful and romantic and based on family history. Not a mystery.
I've published poems and short fiction for Redbook, Seventeen, American Literary Review,Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, and many literary journals and anthologies (Beacon Press, Ashland Poetry Press, Univ of Illinois Press, et al.).
A longtime actress & director,I'm a former Bread Loaf Scholar and Scholar for the Vermont Humanities Council. I live with my spouse and 2 Maine Coon cats in bucolic Middlebury, Vermont. "Becoming Mary Wollstonecraft" Facebook page.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 29, 2011
This historical mystery was pure pleasure. I wanted to jump right into the pages and ask Mary Wollstonecraft to become my BFF! Her character is so rich, so intriguing, that I could easily see how she both frustrates and titillates her publisher, Joseph. This is not a beach read, however. You must understand that Nancy Means Wright does not pander to her audience. The syntax and the idioms of the time remain intact. I suspect Nancy herself is reincarnated from that time! Actually, that was the hook that had me dangling with pleasure by the end. I found myself wanting to swoop down the hallways of my employment warning colleagues to "be advised!" and wishing I could rent a sedan chair for my trek home. I won this through a goodreads giveaway, and through this bit of chance, I have found a new beloved writer. If you wish to be transported to another time, while engaging in a solid mystery, this is for you. Be warned! You will find yourself dashing (because after this read, you will only dash) off to google these fascinating true-life people (Henry Fuselli was kind of a freak - and I love him). Enjoy!
February 20, 2015
I thought I would enjoy this book, but I found I just could not get into it. It's probably written well, but it might be overwritten. If you know about Mary Wollstoncraft-she was an 18th century feminist. And I imagine her just as Wright depicts her. But, I found I didn't appreciate the main character, and I wasn't terribly caught by the historical fiction. So, for me it's an okay read. I am sure others-fans -- will disagree.
March 19, 2023
3 stars
I must confess--I have never particularly cared for Mary Wollstonecraft. When I read THE VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN in graduate school, I found the tone of Wollstonecraft’s rhetoric hysterical and her style repetitive. Subsequent experience of 18th century literature has shown otherwise: Samuel Richardson wins for repetitiveness, hysteria, and melodrama. Nancy Means Wright presents Mary Wollstonecraft as passionate feminist and radical who is impulsive and, occasionally, both melodramatic and hysterical. While my initial reaction to Wollstonecraft derived from a rather out-of-context reading of VINDICATION, Nancy Means Wright has immersed herself in Wollstonecraft’s life and work to provide greater context for Wollstonecraft’s views in THE NIGHTMARE.
The atmosphere of THE NIGHTMARE is claustrophobic, as the plot revolves around the theft of a highly erotic painting done, at the very least, in a proto-Romantic style. Furthermore, it is 1792, the French Revolution is on, and the radicals, intellectuals, and proto-Romantics in Britain are hopeful, encouraged, and excited. The claustrophobia gives THE NIGHTMARE into an entirely appropriate touch of horror, perfectly in keeping with the Gothick literature of the late 18th century.
THE NIGHTMARE opens with Mary Wollstonecraft living in London by the strength of her pen, always a precarious existence. Despite that, she is justifiably proud that her VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE WOMAN has been published to considerable success--and the irritation of conservatives. Wollstonecraft also lives among more congenial company than she did in Ireland. She is part of a radical circle chaired by her publisher, Joseph Johnson, and enlivened by such luminaries as Thomas Paine, William Blake, and William Godwin. She meets French exiles and French revolutionaries, including the clubfooted Tallyrand. It is through Johnson that Wollenstonecraft meets Henry Fuseli, the Swiss artist who created the painting “The Nightmare”. She finds the painting disturbing, but the artist intriguing; ultimately, she fancies herself in love with him--with disastrous and humiliating consequences. When the painting is stolen, Fuseli, a vindictive hothead, accuses a rival artist, Roger Peale, of the theft, an action that lands Peale in Newgate Prison. If this were not distressing enough for Wollstonecraft, who wishes to aid Peale, then another member of her circle, Isobel Frothingham, is murdered. Wollstonecraft sees the body laid out as if in re-enactment of Fuseli’s painting. Finding her friend’s killer becomes a terrifying, convoluted nightmare indeed for Wollstonecraft.
The plot can be overwhelming at times. All the convolutions do not mask the predictable perpetrators of two of the crimes. However, the characterization is deep enough to be believable Wollstonecraft herself is in her element here, strong and believable. We never lose touch with her.
Feminism, like Marxism, is a legitimate frame for both history and fiction. It is a requirement here. The real Mary Wollstonecraft was a publicly proclaimed feminist. She articulated a strong argument for women’s rights to education, equality under the law, and independence, both political and economic. Nancy Means Wright delivers what THE VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN cannot--why Wollstonecraft took such a position. In the novels, Wollstonecraft remains haunted by her childhood with an improvident alcoholic father and a dependent mother, worn out by family cares yet with no means of escaping them. Wollstonecraft is tortured by her sister’s flight from an abusive husband, yet she must leave the baby behind to die. It is a tortured history, one that has, too often in fiction, become hackneyed. It was, however, a wretched historical reality for many people. Adult experience confirms Wollstonecraft’s young impressions, making her passionate in her resistance to injustice. To that vehement outrage, Nancy Means Wright does justice.
I must confess--I have never particularly cared for Mary Wollstonecraft. When I read THE VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN in graduate school, I found the tone of Wollstonecraft’s rhetoric hysterical and her style repetitive. Subsequent experience of 18th century literature has shown otherwise: Samuel Richardson wins for repetitiveness, hysteria, and melodrama. Nancy Means Wright presents Mary Wollstonecraft as passionate feminist and radical who is impulsive and, occasionally, both melodramatic and hysterical. While my initial reaction to Wollstonecraft derived from a rather out-of-context reading of VINDICATION, Nancy Means Wright has immersed herself in Wollstonecraft’s life and work to provide greater context for Wollstonecraft’s views in THE NIGHTMARE.
The atmosphere of THE NIGHTMARE is claustrophobic, as the plot revolves around the theft of a highly erotic painting done, at the very least, in a proto-Romantic style. Furthermore, it is 1792, the French Revolution is on, and the radicals, intellectuals, and proto-Romantics in Britain are hopeful, encouraged, and excited. The claustrophobia gives THE NIGHTMARE into an entirely appropriate touch of horror, perfectly in keeping with the Gothick literature of the late 18th century.
THE NIGHTMARE opens with Mary Wollstonecraft living in London by the strength of her pen, always a precarious existence. Despite that, she is justifiably proud that her VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE WOMAN has been published to considerable success--and the irritation of conservatives. Wollstonecraft also lives among more congenial company than she did in Ireland. She is part of a radical circle chaired by her publisher, Joseph Johnson, and enlivened by such luminaries as Thomas Paine, William Blake, and William Godwin. She meets French exiles and French revolutionaries, including the clubfooted Tallyrand. It is through Johnson that Wollenstonecraft meets Henry Fuseli, the Swiss artist who created the painting “The Nightmare”. She finds the painting disturbing, but the artist intriguing; ultimately, she fancies herself in love with him--with disastrous and humiliating consequences. When the painting is stolen, Fuseli, a vindictive hothead, accuses a rival artist, Roger Peale, of the theft, an action that lands Peale in Newgate Prison. If this were not distressing enough for Wollstonecraft, who wishes to aid Peale, then another member of her circle, Isobel Frothingham, is murdered. Wollstonecraft sees the body laid out as if in re-enactment of Fuseli’s painting. Finding her friend’s killer becomes a terrifying, convoluted nightmare indeed for Wollstonecraft.
The plot can be overwhelming at times. All the convolutions do not mask the predictable perpetrators of two of the crimes. However, the characterization is deep enough to be believable Wollstonecraft herself is in her element here, strong and believable. We never lose touch with her.
Feminism, like Marxism, is a legitimate frame for both history and fiction. It is a requirement here. The real Mary Wollstonecraft was a publicly proclaimed feminist. She articulated a strong argument for women’s rights to education, equality under the law, and independence, both political and economic. Nancy Means Wright delivers what THE VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN cannot--why Wollstonecraft took such a position. In the novels, Wollstonecraft remains haunted by her childhood with an improvident alcoholic father and a dependent mother, worn out by family cares yet with no means of escaping them. Wollstonecraft is tortured by her sister’s flight from an abusive husband, yet she must leave the baby behind to die. It is a tortured history, one that has, too often in fiction, become hackneyed. It was, however, a wretched historical reality for many people. Adult experience confirms Wollstonecraft’s young impressions, making her passionate in her resistance to injustice. To that vehement outrage, Nancy Means Wright does justice.
a-maybe
September 12, 2011I so enjoy the the painting "The Nightmare". I do not like to read horror to much, but depicted in paintings-thrills me to my spine. Ivan Albright is a great artist, and his:
"That Which I Should Have Done I Did Not Do (The Door)"
1931-41
Oil on canvas; 97 x 36 in.
The Art Institute of Chicago
http://www.cegur.com/Albright/TheDoor...
Awaiting a book involving that great work of art. It was originally framed as a coffin-if I am right. The step in the painting, was a tombstone he used as a model. So great it is close to me to visit now and then.
What Painting, do you think, should be involved in a plot line of a book?
"That Which I Should Have Done I Did Not Do (The Door)"
1931-41
Oil on canvas; 97 x 36 in.
The Art Institute of Chicago
http://www.cegur.com/Albright/TheDoor...
Awaiting a book involving that great work of art. It was originally framed as a coffin-if I am right. The step in the painting, was a tombstone he used as a model. So great it is close to me to visit now and then.
What Painting, do you think, should be involved in a plot line of a book?
March 1, 2012
Really good. I like that it combines art and English historical facts. I like all the historical FICTION. I really like authors from this time period and to read about them, and read of their works, or even think about how they might act in a particular situation is interesting to me. I love this painting too. So probably the image of it caught my attention right away, then the name Mary Wollstonecraft, and I knew that I was going to read this book. It is a good mystery and I am usually not one for mysteries. If you like Art and History and Historical Fiction, then you will like this book.
March 14, 2012
Won through Suzanne Adair's website: http://suzanneadair.typepad.com/blog/...
Read intermittently, which is unusual. Never fully engaged, although interesting historical tidbits about Mary Wollstonecraft and her contemporaries.
Read intermittently, which is unusual. Never fully engaged, although interesting historical tidbits about Mary Wollstonecraft and her contemporaries.
September 21, 2013
This is a fun, quirky,historical mystery using Mary Wollenscraft as the sleuth. Sometimes books like this do not measure up from a writing standpoint. This one was very well-written, and apparently well researched. Would definitely read this series again.
March 5, 2012
Enjoyed it for its atmosphere. Thought Wright made Wollstonecraft excessively empty-headed, though.
Light reading.
Light reading.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews