֍ elle ֍’s Reviews > Mary Shelley: A Very Short Introduction > Status Update

I really cannot believe the sloppiness of the editing in this volume. On page 72, Gordon spells Catherine with a C, and then with a K for the rest of the chapter, even though it refers to the same character. Someone get Oxford University on the phone, I want to speak to their manager.

"Ultimately, Mary Shelley makes it clear that Victor is to blame for the creature's violence. If Victor had been capable of parenting his 'son', she implies, the creature might never have given way to destructive rage."

I just quite simply do not believe that's true. I don't think it's what Mary Shelley intended, and since I don't believe that's what Mary Shelley intended, I don't think she makes it "clear".

On a line-by-line basis, this introduction is more poorly organized than I would have expected from this author. She handled the 600 page biography of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Godwin Shelley almost flawlessly, but I've had to reread this intro chapter multiple times to understand why none of the information is sticking in my head.