Mary Shelley in Bath

by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Fiona Sampson (Introduction)

Manderley Press is delighted to announce that the acclaimed poet and historian Fiona Sampson will introduce a brand-new collection of Mary Shelley’s work - all of which was written during, and inspired by, the short yet influential time Mary spent living in the historic literary city of Bath.

Step into the intriguing world of Mary Shelley's transformative time in Bath, a period that deeply influenced her literary genius. In Mary Shelley in Bath, we will explore the personal and creative evolution of the renowned author during her stay in this elegant Georgian city.

Against the backdrop of Bath's grand architecture, bustling social scene and serene countryside, Shelley grapples with personal loss, burgeoning ideas and the societal constraints of her era.

Yet during her time in the city, Shelley finds solace and inspiration, leading to the creation of her iconic novel, Frankenstein.

"Bath, for Mary, was both a refuge and a place of intense sorrow. Here, amid the society of strangers, she faced the devastating loss of those closest to her, and it was within these elegant streets that her private griefs shaped the darkest corners of her imagination."
- Miranda Seymour, in Mary Shelley (2000)

This collection of her journals and letters - as well as the chapter of Frankenstein that Mary penned during her stay in Bath, and additional short stories inspired by her time living there - reveals to us the true nature of her closest relationships, the influence of the city's intellectual circles on her work and the profound impact of Bath's haunting beauty on her imagination.

"Bath, with its air of elegance and refinement, offered little comfort to Mary. Here, amidst its superficial gaiety, she was confronted by the shadows of death and despair, with each tragedy pressing more heavily on her fragile spirit."
- Muriel Spark, in Mary Shelley (1951)

Mary Shelley in Bath thus explores how a place can shape a writer's life and work, offering readers a deeper understanding of the woman behind one of literature's most enduring masterpieces. Discover through her work the city that helped to forge a literary legend.

This book has been beautifully illustrated by local-to-Bath artist Eleanor Macnair, who used one of the portraits of Mary Shelley in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, as inspiration for her own composition of the author sculpted from Play-Doh

Hardcover

Published March 1, 2025

About the author

Mary 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.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t judge a book by its Wallace & Gromit x Jaguar Rebrand collab cover

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crafted via a brief intro to Mary’s life, the circumstances that led her to Bath, and an explanation of the personal life circumstances she was navigating at the time (Fanny’s suicide, Claire’s baby by Byron, Harriet’s suicide) interfused with her journal entries. All culminates in what she wrote during that time in Bath: Chapter 4 of Frankenstein and a few short stories. Great insight into how her environment affected her work!

[Emma Escott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[India Farnham · Rating 3 out of 5]

obsessed with how blunt her diaries are

[Betty-Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful book by Manderley Press.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice slight Bath focused volume. It brings together some of her writing in Bath with some letters and some pretty dull journal entries. It's an interesting curiosity but not much more. Beautifully produced volume.