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In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein | Fiona Sampson
20 posts | 5 read | 31 to read
Mary Shelley was brought up by her father in a house filled with radical thinkers, poets, philosophers and writers of the day. Aged sixteen, she eloped with Percy Bysshe Shelley, embarking on a relationship that was lived on the move across Britain and Europe, as she coped with debt, infidelity and the deaths of three children, before early widowhood changed her life forever. Most astonishingly, it was while she was still a teenager that Mary composed her canonical novel Frankenstein, creating two of our most enduring archetypes today. The life story is well-known. But who was the woman who lived it? She's left plenty of evidence, and in this fascinating dialogue with the past, Fiona Sampson sifts through letters, diaries and records to find the real woman behind the story. She uncovers a complex, generous character - friend, intellectual, lover and mother - trying to fulfil her own passionate commitment to writing at a time when to be a woman writer was an extraordinary and costly anomaly. Published for the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, this is a major new work of biography by a prize-winning writer and poet.
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review
Palimpsest
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Pickpick

I‘ve shared this page because it was one of my qualms with this book in suggesting she felt a certain way or that literature resonated with her a certain way that she might have read. I also prefer texts to be linear. I enjoyed reading about the books Mary read pertaining to her interests or where she traveled. This book assumes the reader knows the basics of her life, but fills it in with richer research. My sympathies lie with what she endured.

MrBook Great review! 5y
Palimpsest @MrBook thanks! 5y
42 likes2 comments
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Palimpsest
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I used a gift certificate I got for my birthday from my mom to buy In search of Mary Shelley and Muse of Nightmares today at my local bookstore. I put my name in a drawing for Independent Bookstore day and won my choice off their gently scratched rack and chose The Best Minds of My Generation and The We and Me book was from a free rack for anyone who came into the store today! Woo hoo! So excited because I don‘t usually win stuff!

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Mitch
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Getting new bookshelves means some of my books now have got a little more space to breathe... for now! 🤣

JoScho Love those Legos! 6y
GypsyKat Too cute! 6y
That-Bookish-Hiker These legos! I need them! 6y
Mitch @That-Bookish-Hiker they‘re super cute aren‘t they... they also do an Emily Brontë one with cute Victorian dress which I‘m converting! 6y
That-Bookish-Hiker @Mitch where did you get them? Just from the LEGO store? 6y
101 likes5 comments
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TrishB
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How do comments like this get through editing. So what exactly does a mother like look!? We all look the same 🤷‍♀️ I don‘t think so....this is also a comment about Mary Wollstonecraft - rubbish she was fighting against all her life.
Has not got me feeling positive to the book, will carry on for now.
And that comment is written by a woman.
Rant over, honestly.

jhod 😠 6y
Amiable That's terrible. 😖 6y
batsy Oh dear. I got this recently and have been looking forward to it. But this is the kind of stuff that pisses me off, too. 6y
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TrishB @batsy I‘ve been looking forward to it for ages too. Don‘t let my comments put you off! 6y
Balibee146 🙄🙄 Oh dear... 6y
julesG What does a mother look like? Straight back, sucked in flabby belly, bags under her eyes? 6y
TrishB @julesG I thought that was just me! 😁 6y
julesG Forgot to mention the stretch marks everywhere. 😁😁😁 6y
AlaMich @julesG Uh, that sort of describes me and I don‘t even have kids! ☹️ 6y
julesG @AlaMich Sorry Not Sorry 😂😂😂 I keep saying my kids gave me stretch marks behind my ears. It's not that bad though. And, a bit shy of 9 years after having my daughter, I've found something that helps with the stretch marks; I massage a 1:1 mix of coconut oil and aloe vera gel into my skin. The marks have become less visible. 6y
Lindy I would have felt all rant-y at that sentence too. Thanks for the catharsis. 😉 6y
Leftcoastzen Geez! Awful . 6y
ravenlee So mothers hold their bodies in a “relaxed way”? Because we‘re loose and flabby? Sorry - this mom is usually pretty tight, in the sense of being ready to dash off at the first cry of “mama!” 6y
Caroline2 Gees! 🤦🏻‍♀️ 6y
Violetsunrise84 How does she not resemble a mother?🤦🏾‍♀️ I cant... 6y
GingerAntics 🤦🏼‍♀️I thought the only thing one had to do to look like a mother was be a woman. (edited) 6y
119 likes18 comments
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TrishB
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#creator #NoFemmeber
Well, she created a monster....just people get mixed up about who is the monster!

batsy Good pick 👍🏽 6y
Cinfhen Damn!!! Another book I need to read!!! Great pick 6y
Cathythoughts Nice choice 👍🏻❤️ 6y
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erzascarletbookgasm 👍 Nicely done! 6y
Billypar Perfect choice! I love the origin story behind how Frankenstein came about- it would be nice to learn more about Shelley herself. 6y
alisiakae There have been so many intriguing Mary Shelley books published this year to celebrate the 200th anniversary! I keep adding more to my TBR. 😆 6y
133 likes7 stack adds6 comments
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esurient

Woe, author attendance unfortunately canceled. #2018NBF #nationalbookfestival

6 likes1 stack add
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scripturient
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#TBRtemptation post: Found this in the #edbookfest #bookshoptent and might get it tomorrow. Has anyone read it?

LeahBergen Not yet but I recently bought it. 👍🏻 6y
Jenny Oooo! Let us know how it is. 6y
90 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Mitch
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Gutted I missed this. Anybody seen it? #booksandmovies

Palimpsest Yes, I ended up streaming it. I can‘t vouch for the accuracy of the film because I don‘t know all the details of her life, but I can‘t resist watching historical dramas about books or in this case, the author. I did enjoy it. Mary Shelley is the next subject of National Geographic‘s Genius show which I‘m excited to watch! 6y
72 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Shannonbee
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This is one of those "read while you can" moments. Hooray for swimming lessons!

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SharonGoforth
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I haven‘t been reading much lately, and I‘m not happy about it. I brought these home today. Both books look inspiring. Fingers crossed! 🤞🤞#nosuchthingastoomanybooks #incoming #findinginspiration #newbooks

LeahBergen I just bought that Shelley bio, too. 👍🏻 6y
SharonGoforth @leahbergen Awesome!! I hope it‘s good 😊 6y
rubyslippersreads These both look good. 6y
SharonGoforth @rubyslippersreads I think they do, too! 6y
52 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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MrBook
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Anything Mary Shelley: YES, please!!! 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-mother-of-frankenstein-1527887668

#TheLitsyNewsNetwork #LNN

PirateJenny I fully agree. You did hear about the facsimile edition of Frankenstein that a UK publisher brought out this year, yes? 6y
Gina Thank you for the link. Her poet husband Percy was quite a character as well. 6y
tournevis Argh! As if Thr Last Man is not just as good! I hate it when article authors don't do their research. Like, come one, she invented the Last Man trope! Hello! Argh! 6y
theladygreer The preview of the movie starring Elle Fanning as Mary looks amaaaaazing. 6y
83 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Mitch
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Fiona Sampson is such a good speaker - she‘s a wiz a putting things in a really rich cultural context. Loving her reflections tonight on Mary Shelley as a young mum, celebrated author and unpopular woman. #inspiringwomen

Sophoclessweetheart I bet this was amazing 😍 7y
Mitch She was really good. If you get a chance to hear her talk I‘d thoroughly recommend it. She links so many ideas, reflections, histories and cultural references in a way that was so clear and enjoyable to follow. Looking forward to reading her book now! 📚📚 7y
72 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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REPollock
Pickpick

If you love the Romantic poets and Frankenstein, this is 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Full of dramatic ups and downs, and the occasional gruesome detail, like the fact that, after he died, she kept a desiccated piece of Percy‘s heart in her desk drawer for the rest of her life.

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REPollock
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BYRON IN THE HOUSE.

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REPollock
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The conjecture as to where Mary & Percy first did the horizontal tango alone makes this worth a read if you are into weird gothic romance. Just saying.

saresmoore I am so in. 7y
TheWordJar Weird gothic romance. Yes! 7y
16 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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REPollock
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BRING ME THE HEART OF PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY.

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REPollock
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200th anniversary of #Frankenstein so yes please with this new Mary Shelley biography! 🧟‍♂️

batsy Oh, I'm so jealous! Can't wait to read this. 7y
8 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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charl08
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Intrigued by what the author is trying to do.

37 likes2 stack adds
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Mitch
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Having a Frankenstein moment! To celebrate the 200yr anniversary I‘ve chosen an illustrated edition of the book, a biography of Mary Shelley, a fiction biography of Mary and a modern retake! #thelastofmychristmasgiftcards

UrsulaMonarch What a great way to celebrate! 👏 7y
LeahBergen I like this plan! I recently stacked this one (you may need to add it to that pile 😆) 7y
Mitch Oh yes ! @LeahBergen. Think I might have inadvertently started a thing!😂 7y
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MatchlessMarie @hollynations check these out 7y
hollynations ⚡️💚 7y
LeahBergen Oh, and I forgot to stack this bio. 😂 7y
84 likes1 stack add6 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
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Mary Shelley is one of my favourite literary smart girl - a young woman way ahead of her time. Her novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus she wrote at the age of nineteen, was a whole new genre never before written of. Her next book, The Last Man, is widely considered the first post-apocalyptic novel.
#fiercefeb #moderngirl @Cinfhen @batsy

JazzFeathers The Last Man? I've never heard of it 🤔 7y
batsy Great pick and nice interpretation :) She was ahead of her time. 7y
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TrishB Great stuff👍🏻 7y
Cathythoughts Nice one 👍🏻 7y
RohitSawant Awesome pick!⚡ 7y
Christine11 Looks fascinating! 7y
readordierachel Good one! 7y
92 likes1 stack add8 comments