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The Mary Shelley Reader
Renewed interest in the life and works of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley has in recent years generated new biographical studies, complete editions of her letters and short stories, and fresh critical assessments of Frankenstein and her other fiction. Until now, however, there has been no anthology of Shelley's work. The Mary Shelley Reader is a unique new collection that fills this gap. In addition to the original and complete 1818 version of her masterpiece Frankenstein , the book offers a new text of the novella Mathilda --an extraordinary tale of incest, guilt, and atonement that was not published until 1959 and has been out of print since then. Also included are seven short stories that range from gentle satire to fantastic tales of reanimation, diabolical transformation, and immortality. Eight essays and reviews are reprinted here for the first time since their original publication, and eleven representative letters help bring to life a remarkable literary and historical
figure--author, daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, and wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley. An illuminating introduction, a chronology, explanatory notes, and a bibliography make The Mary Shelley Reader indispensable for readers of English Romantic literature.
figure--author, daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, and wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley. An illuminating introduction, a chronology, explanatory notes, and a bibliography make The Mary Shelley Reader indispensable for readers of English Romantic literature.
446 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 1990
2 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
2,353 books8,645 followersMary Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, often known as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley) was an English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, travel writer, and editor of the works of her husband, Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. She was the daughter of the political philosopher William Godwin and the writer, philosopher, and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.
Mary Shelley was taken seriously as a writer in her own lifetime, though reviewers often missed the political edge to her novels. After her death, however, she was chiefly remembered only as the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley and as the author of Frankenstein. It was not until 1989, when Emily Sunstein published her prizewinning biography Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality, that a full-length scholarly biography analyzing all of Shelley's letters, journals, and works within their historical context was published.
The well-meaning attempts of Mary Shelley's son and daughter-in-law to "Victorianise" her memory through the censoring of letters and biographical material contributed to a perception of Mary Shelley as a more conventional, less reformist figure than her works suggest. Her own timid omissions from Percy Shelley's works and her quiet avoidance of public controversy in the later years of her life added to this impression.
The eclipse of Mary Shelley's reputation as a novelist and biographer meant that, until the last thirty years, most of her works remained out of print, obstructing a larger view of her achievement. She was seen as a one-novel author, if that. In recent decades, however, the republication of almost all her writings has stimulated a new recognition of its value. Her voracious reading habits and intensive study, revealed in her journals and letters and reflected in her works, is now better appreciated. Shelley's recognition of herself as an author has also been recognized; after Percy's death, she wrote about her authorial ambitions: "I think that I can maintain myself, and there is something inspiriting in the idea". Scholars now consider Mary Shelley to be a major Romantic figure, significant for her literary achievement and her political voice as a woman and a liberal.
Mary Shelley was taken seriously as a writer in her own lifetime, though reviewers often missed the political edge to her novels. After her death, however, she was chiefly remembered only as the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley and as the author of Frankenstein. It was not until 1989, when Emily Sunstein published her prizewinning biography Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality, that a full-length scholarly biography analyzing all of Shelley's letters, journals, and works within their historical context was published.
The well-meaning attempts of Mary Shelley's son and daughter-in-law to "Victorianise" her memory through the censoring of letters and biographical material contributed to a perception of Mary Shelley as a more conventional, less reformist figure than her works suggest. Her own timid omissions from Percy Shelley's works and her quiet avoidance of public controversy in the later years of her life added to this impression.
The eclipse of Mary Shelley's reputation as a novelist and biographer meant that, until the last thirty years, most of her works remained out of print, obstructing a larger view of her achievement. She was seen as a one-novel author, if that. In recent decades, however, the republication of almost all her writings has stimulated a new recognition of its value. Her voracious reading habits and intensive study, revealed in her journals and letters and reflected in her works, is now better appreciated. Shelley's recognition of herself as an author has also been recognized; after Percy's death, she wrote about her authorial ambitions: "I think that I can maintain myself, and there is something inspiriting in the idea". Scholars now consider Mary Shelley to be a major Romantic figure, significant for her literary achievement and her political voice as a woman and a liberal.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 30, 2019
I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I am glad I had the opportunity to read this collection of Mary Shelley’s works. They are by far the best introduction to her works I have come across and provide a greater range and breadth of Shelley’s skill as a writer.
Obviously Frankenstein was the first work in this collection and simply a timeless classic.
I was surprised by her short novel Mathilda, the melodrama and emotional nature of the protagonist had me wondering how much fun Shelley had writing it.
I personally cannot appreciate the included excerpts of The Last Man simply because I like to read the entire story in order form a complete and accurate opinion of a story.
The essays where a very nice addition, since even during my undergraduate years I was never fortunate enough to read more than her most famous novel, Frankenstein.
Overall, a very good collection of Shelley’s works and an insightful introduction to one of the most influential writers.
ElliotScribbles
I am glad I had the opportunity to read this collection of Mary Shelley’s works. They are by far the best introduction to her works I have come across and provide a greater range and breadth of Shelley’s skill as a writer.
Obviously Frankenstein was the first work in this collection and simply a timeless classic.
I was surprised by her short novel Mathilda, the melodrama and emotional nature of the protagonist had me wondering how much fun Shelley had writing it.
I personally cannot appreciate the included excerpts of The Last Man simply because I like to read the entire story in order form a complete and accurate opinion of a story.
The essays where a very nice addition, since even during my undergraduate years I was never fortunate enough to read more than her most famous novel, Frankenstein.
Overall, a very good collection of Shelley’s works and an insightful introduction to one of the most influential writers.
ElliotScribbles
Want to read
June 9, 2007I read this freshman year because my prof. was one of the authors. I can't remember that much about it so I'll be reading it again. There's something about asssigned reading that makes it harder for the information to stick in your head.
July 23, 2017
on page 364 of420.
1) "Frankenstein" in the original should be required reading in high school, if only as a starting point for Ethics 101.
It, with exact wording, would also make an incredible Steampunk movie.
2) "On Ghosts" was a fascinating read for me, as someone who grew up with an Irish-German Grandmother who taught us not to fear, but talk to & enjoy the ghost in her 1700's built colonial house. Most writers in the "Never seen ghosts" camp are boring, dictatorial, and ponderous along with having an obscene devotion to converting you from "dank superstition". Mary remains impartial to the real / not real argument, honest, but relates examples that will either confirm what I was taught or at the very least make you think. Hard. An excellent shorter (for Victorian) essay.
3) There is much to learn about the sad state of affairs in Vaticanite Catholicism in the 1800's in several of the Essays, and hints of it are replete in "The Bride Of Modern Italy".
Again, Mary is certainly Anglican Catholic, which makes her observations so colored, but she still retains an insistence on rigid honesty in relating what she saw & heard while in Italy.
When compared to Victorian and Modern Vaticanite and Old Catholic Authors, one can see more clearly the stunning decline of the Vaticanite family that certainly was the "fertile ground" for the rushed disastrous Vatican I Council, the ensuing heretical theologies and dogmas between then and Vatican II, the pathetic last Crusade Army, World War I, and the continuing issues in deciphering which Francis - Bishop or Caesar - actually wrote that last Tweet.
His attempts so far as bishop to reform both his Nation and its National Church become near miracles when one realizes how badly they had strayed by 1800. His failures as a Caesar, including his Nuremberg worthy crimes of coverups and meddling in other countries likewise become glaring. As Jesus said, no human can serve two masters, and eventually the Vaticanites will have to choose to either be members of a Catholic family of church denominations, or a citizens of a nation that is in essence more like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Therefore, I would include sections of this book, paired with like sections by her Old Catholic and Vaticanite contemporaries, for high school level and higher Catholic Education Classes in History of the Church.
4) The descriptions of France, Switzerald, Italy, England are incredible, a treasure for both lovers of travel and audio books for the blind. Mary Shelly makes you feel like you have been transported in time and are there.
5) After reading her review " The English In Italy", I am immeasurably happy that Mary Shelly will never do a review of my feeble poetry and prose. She was devastatingly accurate and pointed with her arrows of critique!
"Loves of the Poets" is next...* hungry for more *
1) "Frankenstein" in the original should be required reading in high school, if only as a starting point for Ethics 101.
It, with exact wording, would also make an incredible Steampunk movie.
2) "On Ghosts" was a fascinating read for me, as someone who grew up with an Irish-German Grandmother who taught us not to fear, but talk to & enjoy the ghost in her 1700's built colonial house. Most writers in the "Never seen ghosts" camp are boring, dictatorial, and ponderous along with having an obscene devotion to converting you from "dank superstition". Mary remains impartial to the real / not real argument, honest, but relates examples that will either confirm what I was taught or at the very least make you think. Hard. An excellent shorter (for Victorian) essay.
3) There is much to learn about the sad state of affairs in Vaticanite Catholicism in the 1800's in several of the Essays, and hints of it are replete in "The Bride Of Modern Italy".
Again, Mary is certainly Anglican Catholic, which makes her observations so colored, but she still retains an insistence on rigid honesty in relating what she saw & heard while in Italy.
When compared to Victorian and Modern Vaticanite and Old Catholic Authors, one can see more clearly the stunning decline of the Vaticanite family that certainly was the "fertile ground" for the rushed disastrous Vatican I Council, the ensuing heretical theologies and dogmas between then and Vatican II, the pathetic last Crusade Army, World War I, and the continuing issues in deciphering which Francis - Bishop or Caesar - actually wrote that last Tweet.
His attempts so far as bishop to reform both his Nation and its National Church become near miracles when one realizes how badly they had strayed by 1800. His failures as a Caesar, including his Nuremberg worthy crimes of coverups and meddling in other countries likewise become glaring. As Jesus said, no human can serve two masters, and eventually the Vaticanites will have to choose to either be members of a Catholic family of church denominations, or a citizens of a nation that is in essence more like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Therefore, I would include sections of this book, paired with like sections by her Old Catholic and Vaticanite contemporaries, for high school level and higher Catholic Education Classes in History of the Church.
4) The descriptions of France, Switzerald, Italy, England are incredible, a treasure for both lovers of travel and audio books for the blind. Mary Shelly makes you feel like you have been transported in time and are there.
5) After reading her review " The English In Italy", I am immeasurably happy that Mary Shelly will never do a review of my feeble poetry and prose. She was devastatingly accurate and pointed with her arrows of critique!
"Loves of the Poets" is next...* hungry for more *
May 5, 2016
This is a great starting point if you're entirely unfamiliar with Mary Shelley's work. Because of the incalculable influence and importance of Frankenstein, it's perhaps difficult to understand how radically new Shelley's work was when first published. This is why I wish Dover had included the entirety of The Last Man - Shelley's ground-breaking science fiction novel first published in 1826 - rather than provide an excerpt. Putting the whole of The Last Man next to Frankenstein could help bring home the point of just how diverse Shelley's talents for speculative fiction were. I'm assuming there are rights or cost issues that prevents the publisher from including the entire novel. But aside from this issue, I greatly enjoyed the collection (although it should be noted that her short stories aren't as strong or imaginative as her longer fictions).
The publisher provided me with a free e-copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The publisher provided me with a free e-copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 11, 2016
As someone who had only heard of Mary Shelley in regards to Frankenstein it was interesting to read more of her work. The novels were mainly melancholic but the novellas were more light hearted and by including her essay on Ghosts you are sure to end with a laugh.
I highly recommend this book especially to students of the novel Frankenstein as it gives a lovely introduction to that work but also to those who are interested in Mary Shelley and want to investigate her other work.
ARC from NetGalley and publisher for an impartial review.
I highly recommend this book especially to students of the novel Frankenstein as it gives a lovely introduction to that work but also to those who are interested in Mary Shelley and want to investigate her other work.
ARC from NetGalley and publisher for an impartial review.
December 27, 2019
Frankenstein’s monster is a millennial. Suffering is a part of the human vocation. Get on with your life.
December 28, 2018
This collection is wonderful. It contains Frankenstein, Mathilda, and an assortment of fiction short stories, essays and reviews, and letters. It showcases Shelley's writing well, and her stories are captivating.
October 19, 2023
I read the Frankenstein related sections--including the full story--and some of her letters included in the back.
Great insight into humanity and the fearsome things we are capable of.
Great insight into humanity and the fearsome things we are capable of.
August 9, 2015
Ideas, meanings, stories, words themselves, were used rather differently during Shelley's time, and many times I had to read the text carefully to be able to figure out that one paragraph of what seemed like fluff to me actually meant "she found a friend, and she didn't appreciate".
Frankenstein was definitely not the horror story it has been made out to be by so many since it's publication, except for how horribly the creator of his monster did no do justice to his creation's existence. I thought that, surely, after hearing his monster's tale of loneliness and misunderstandings, Frank would have sympathized with him; but it seems that physical looks equal awful character, as Shelley indicates in one of her tales included in the book, kind of a "fiend in looks is a fiend in character".
Mathilda is, to my mind, two stories mashed together, but neither appropriate to be with the other. Incest? No, I don't think Shelley got the idea of incest down. She gets Mathilda's shame and suffering down, but she totally misses the boat on how Mathilda got so ashamed...unless that is another incident of my not reading between the lines enough.
Some of the reviews or essays I really couldn't finish, but found some literary merit in force-feeding myself the abundance of words used to tell the stories.
What is different to me in reading this and then reading a contemporary book? I think it is the lack of personal existential experience. I really didn't see that so much as descriptions of bodily and facial gestures, and general thoughts. Perhaps I should try reading something dated even earlier to gain better pserspective of the writing of the time compared with that gone before it.
Frankenstein was definitely not the horror story it has been made out to be by so many since it's publication, except for how horribly the creator of his monster did no do justice to his creation's existence. I thought that, surely, after hearing his monster's tale of loneliness and misunderstandings, Frank would have sympathized with him; but it seems that physical looks equal awful character, as Shelley indicates in one of her tales included in the book, kind of a "fiend in looks is a fiend in character".
Mathilda is, to my mind, two stories mashed together, but neither appropriate to be with the other. Incest? No, I don't think Shelley got the idea of incest down. She gets Mathilda's shame and suffering down, but she totally misses the boat on how Mathilda got so ashamed...unless that is another incident of my not reading between the lines enough.
Some of the reviews or essays I really couldn't finish, but found some literary merit in force-feeding myself the abundance of words used to tell the stories.
What is different to me in reading this and then reading a contemporary book? I think it is the lack of personal existential experience. I really didn't see that so much as descriptions of bodily and facial gestures, and general thoughts. Perhaps I should try reading something dated even earlier to gain better pserspective of the writing of the time compared with that gone before it.
April 12, 2016
We seem a little underserved by this collection of public domain texts. In the case of Frankenstein, for obvious reasons the first story here, we get the author's disingenuous introduction, where she kind of hides the truths about the changes she'd made since the original publication, and this book doesn't try and alert the reader to there being two variants. We don't get the introduction to The Last Man, which is only an extract (and at great length, surely the world's longest extract). I'll ignore the novella for having a most drear subject matter. And as for the short stories – the one regarding the (true-life) legend of a man thawed after 150 years in an Alpine glacier gets nowhere, the tale of a man suffering immortality offers little new, and the rest – even when they include a woman testing herself over matters of love, or a man returning to claim his child betrothed a much-changed cad and therefore unwanted, yet about to change in a much greater and more mysterious fashion – are nothing more than chivalric, courtly romances. They’re certainly not as genre-bound as the lead novel would suggest – but perhaps we're becoming so mundane can no longer see ghosts, as the concluding essay initially posits. All is lumbered with the usual pre-Victorian writing style, both woolly and high on vocabulary, meaning this is hard work for little reward. The volume itself is a more than worthy introduction, if flawed – but few will be avidly turning elsewhere to more Shelley nowadays.
November 18, 2019
Rereading
April 3, 2013
Matilda was an interesting story. One of her lesser known.
March 29, 2016
More from Mary Shelley, including my favorite "The Mortal Immortal," as well as the incestuous "Mathilda."
March 6, 2016
Useful collection of Mary Shelley’s writings, including the full text of Frankenstein.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews