Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality

by Emily W. Sunstein

Winner of the Prize for Independent Scholars from the Modern Language AssociationNotable Book of the Year from The New York Times Daughter of pioneer feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and radical philosopher William Godwin, lover and wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley, author of Frankenstein and creator of the science fiction genre, Mary Shelley has remained a figure both undervalued and enigmatic. In this authoritative, ground-breaking biography, she is finally restored to her rightful stature as one of the major figures in English literary history. Here for the first time is a full account of Mary Shelley's career, significant areas of which have never before been her precocious childhood, her adolescent liaison with the radical poet Shelley, her creation of Frankenstein at the age of nineteen, her tempestuous but brilliant married years with Shelley, and, of particular note, the dramatic second half of her life, after Shelley's death. Emily Sunstein has also discovered previously unknown works written by Mary Shelley and traces the development of her unjustly clouded posthumous reputation.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

512 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1988

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting for its focus on Mary Shelley’s life beyond the time spent under her famous husband’s shadow and her first novel, Frankenstein. Analyzes her subsequent work and the damage done to her reputation by biographers’ reliance on partial information and blatant untruths.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am such a nerd that when this book came out, I checked it out of the library (the hardcover version, people) and took it with me *on vacation*. I had such a fascination for that whole Shelley-Byron circle.

[Lindsay]

its possible I'm becoming a little obsessed with ms. shelley

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is exhaustively researched. However, it's not convincingly argued. It often felt like Sunstein was picking such small quotes from the primary sources that they could mean anything in any context. Sunstein also seems to see herself as the correcter of record on Mary Godwin Shelley - an admirable academic goal and something I do believe needed to be done. But the tone gets a little virtuous in this regard, and it often seems like Sunstein likes Mary Shelley too much to be entirely accurate in her portrayal. Here are some examples.

"One almost hesitates to go on, but she learned that Aubrey Beauclerk and Rosa Robinson had matched up... Call it quixoitic commitment to the unfortunate, resurgent Eros... or terrible luck; however interpreted, these repetitions in Mary Shelley's career indicate a fatal inflexibility."

sorry HOW? HOW do repetitions in Mary Shelley's personal life indicate a fatal inflexibility? The evidence does not support the argument. You're a historian; there should be no hesitation to go on, this is a historical text. These sorts of conclusions and odd protectiveness over Mrs. Shelley's memory and reputation are all over the text - I found myself raising my eyebrows and wanting the arguments to be more clearly signposted. I hate feeling like I'm grading when I'm reading nonfiction. C+; let's talk about this.

"Mary deluded herself, some say, about the gratifications of her union with [Shelley], but these skeptics misunderstand..."

Bad choice of words and evocative of the entire book. Even while trying to paint M.G.S. in this light, it's obvious from the primary sources cited that she was absolutely delulu over Shelley, which makes her more human and more likable! I got the feeling Sunstein was trying to protect Mary Shelley from herself at times, fighting hard to argue against the evidence. Obviously it takes dedication and love to write a book this huge and exhaustive about the life of a human being, but it's bad research to assume you are the One True Interpreter of Mary Shelley, Everyone Else Has Got It Wrong.

The book describes in great detail Shelley's entire social circle over the course of her life, which is at times fascinating and also terribly boring. There are so many people and tangents and sidebars. I'm not a historian; I don't know their significance, I can't keep track of them all, and so many of them have the same/similar names. This is complicated by the fact that Mary Shelley seems to have had a pattern of falling in and out with people; someone from 50 pages ago who wronged her will crop back up and suddenly they're besties again. It may be true to life, but I felt like I needed an index of people or a timeline or something to keep it all straight. While confusing, it does lend credence to Sunstein's later claims that early biographers of Mary Shelley were biased. The problem is, Sunstein (and Mary Shelley's daughter-in-law) seem biased in the other direction, and this reader got the sense that the truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle.

HOWEVER, the references are delicious and give me more to go on. I'm glad I read it. I understand the desire for some sort of parasocial emotional connection with Mary Shelley - Sunstein paints a convincing portrait of a generous, brilliant, human woman. It's easy to see myself in Mary Shelley. Also, the Romantic gossip is TRULY gripping; they were messy as hell and I'm here for it.

[Emily D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I head finally gotten around to watching the movie "Mary Shelley" with Elle Fanning, as well as Maisie Williams playing a minor role. I liked the movie and have been wanting to read this biography ever since I bought it from a library book sale probably 7 years ago. I liked Frankenstein, and I liked Mary Wollstonecraft's "Vindication of the Rights of Women" and so Mary Shelley's life seemed very interesting.
It took me awhile to read this in-depth study but it was well worth it! This author took the time to do her research and maintain an objective viewpoint. She points out that many previous biographies are extremely biased, based either on hearsay, former misleading works, or very skewed information distorted by both well-meaning and more malicious contemporaries of Shelley after her death.
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley led a very interesting life and is a fascinating woman. Her biography was quite different from what the movie portrayed. On reflection, the movie seems very romanticized.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long, and am not reading it as thoroughly as I should, but its fascinating learning about her childhood and romance with Shelley. The author includes lots of anecdotes to bring it all to life.

[xchiarap · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is an useful biography if you want to know everything about mary shelley

[Annie Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best biographies I've ever read. This is a in-depth look at a fascinating woman.