Mary Shelley: Frankenstein's Creator : First Science Fiction Writer

by Joan Kane Nichols

The life of Mary Shelley provides fascinating reading, especially to girls. Born to radical intellectuals. Mary grew up during Britain's High Romantic Era. which was captured in the feverish visions of William Blake. the fire and brimstone epics of Milton, and the exquisite laudanum-laced poetics of Keats, Lord Byron, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. The daughter of independent thinkers -- famed feminist and author Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher novelist William Godwin -- Mary was taught to embrace the original, the daring, and the unfamiliar, all of which inspired her ground-breaking debut novel, Frankenstein.Mary's own life was the very stuff of gothic romance. Conceived in secrecy in a forbidden romance, she was born during a violent storm and, following her mother's death, made daily visits to her grave and learned to read by tracing the inscription on the mossy gravestone.

At just 16 Mary ran away with the rebel poet Shelley. Shockingly, they lived together out of wedlock: he was already married to a woman who committed suicide by drowning. Cast out of society, and abandoned by her once doting father, Mary followed her passions. At age 19 she attended a Fateful party hosted by Lord Byron where he challenged his guests -- the literary brat pack of the day -- to compose a ghost story. While the men quickly lost interest in the project, Mary created Frankenstein, a work that would change the face of English literature.

To young adult readers of today, Mary Shelley provides equal doses of inspiration and bone-tingling entertainment. Mary lived a life of tragedy and triumph, and her brilliant literary imaginings foreshadowed contemporary issues raised by genetic engineering,computer advances, bioengineered plagues, and cloning.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Nəzrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Tabiatımın her alışkanlığını yutan büyük amaç tamamlanana kadar sevgi duygularıma ilişkin her şeyi ertelemek istiyordum sanki" deyən Frankeştayn "... mutluluğu sakinlikte ara ve hırstan kaçın" deyə məsləhət verdi dostuna.

[EvaLovesYA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also posted on Eva Lucias blog

This is an amazing theory book about the well-known story about Frankenstein. Very thorough and detailed, and perfect to use for ideas to your academic paper or a great brain storm on the monster myth.

I dearly recommend it for everyone who has been/or is interested and fascinated by the monster myth that is clearly seen in Frankenstein. There are many interesting details about historical and sociological circumstances in this specific time period, when Mary Shelley wrote her novel. Furthermore, there is info on Mary Shelley's life and authorship, so it gets easier for the reader to understand which factors influenced her writing.

It also deals with the clash of religion and science which is indirectly dealt with in the novel, symbolism, metaphors and what the monster represent in the telling. I could go on.
It's too easy to get intrigued when reading this behind-the-novel-book.

Blog ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Youtube ~ Spotify ~

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to read about the author who wrote Frankenstein, this is a nice beginning. I came across this book by accident wanting to read a new memoir about Jane Austen, and I picked this one up as well. I'm not a real big monster book reader but this book certainly had me interested in reading Frankenstein. This book mainly focuses on Mary Shelley's life. It is listed as a juvenile category but there it isn't naive in any way. It's not a long read for I read it in one lazy rainy afternoon.

[Leslie Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting! I knew nothing about her. Turns out she and her family are fascinating.

[Hannah Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein's Creator by Joan Kane Nichols is a wordy book that introduces the author of Frankenstein, Marry Shelley and how Frankenstein came about. The main idea of the book is Mary Shelley's life and her struggled throughout her life.The book includes topics such as religion, romance and history. The book had a somewhat soporific effect on me. This was not one of the best books I have read. I recommend this book to readers who like reading about the lives of others.
This interesting book touched upon the topics of Mary's life. These themes included her family life, her opinions on religion and her romance with her husband, Percy. However, one thing I did like about the book was Nichol's choice of words. "Frankenstein was born out of the fear of humanity's new power." (178). This quote from the book makes me truly think about the power that we have in the world. The book also had some great context to why Mary Shelley created the well known character of Frankenstein. Another thing is, the literary work drew on topics that it did not need to draw on. For instance, the book talked about Mary's childhood life for approximately 100 pages. I like things to be short and concise. This book has incredible detail though. I did appreciate Joan Nichol's attention to details. This made the book a little more enjoyable.
In conclusion, this book is a wonderful historical reference regarding Mrs. Shelley's life, but it's just not the book for me. I would recommend this book to history gurus who like to learn about others lives. I was moderately bored throughout this book. I simply do not like non-fiction books. However, Joan Kane Nichols has a way with words and her writing technique made my reading experience quite enjoyable. If I had to rate this book out of five stars, I would give it a 3. It has a wonderful use of words, but the themes were rather bland to me. Otherwise, it was a superb book and I had a splendid time learning about the life of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a follow up to MonsterAngel (a fictionalized account of Mary Shelley's life). This book is great. If you are looking for a comprehensive yet simple book to read about M. Shelley's life and works, including commentary on Frankenstein and how the story of Frankenstein has been incorporated into modern entertainment, read this. I thought it was great, she is fascinating and I recommend it! Don't be turned off by the cover!

[Emily Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is my favorite book of all time

[Kate S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very straightforward account of the life of Mary Shelley. Looking forward to more in-depth looks at the life and relationships of this unusual author.