Friday, October 23, 2015

An exciting book about Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein -- A Book Review

 


Mary Shelley



A TIMELY BOOK AND A LOOK BACK AT ONE OF THE SCARIEST CREATURES AN AUTHOR INVENTED: FRANKENSTEIN!

 

BOOK REVIEW:

 

Posted by Anna Patterson. Writer, Journalist, Book Reviewer

THE DETERMINED HEART: The Tale of Mary Shelley and Her Frankenstein – by Antoinette May. Published by Lake Union Publishing. Page: 447. Historical, Biographical, Literary, Published September 29, 2015.
I received a copy to read through the Netgalley program in exchange for an honest and unbiased review which I am happy to share now.
Other books by this author:
Pilot’s Wife
The Sacred Well
The Yucatan: A Guide to the Land of Maya Mysteries
Haunted Houses of California: A Ghostly Guide to Haunted Houses and Wondering Spirits
      I would give this book Five Stars for its excellent blend of fact and fiction. This book tells the story of Mary Shelley most famous as the author of Frankenstein. In this new book just out, Mary Godwin’s life had many upheavals, but one of the most telling was a move from her home in a small suburb to the city of London.
Mary’s life was definitely daring and scary even before her efforts to write Frankenstein. The author describes one such incident in a boat: “Mary, Bysshe, and Claire huddled together in the center, hoping their combined weight would maintain balance . . .”
      The publisher’s description states The Determined Heart reveals the life of Mary Shelley in a story of love and obsession, betrayal and redemption.
It describes her early beginnings and the people who most inspired her in life. She was born the daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, “Mary Shelley had an unconventional childhood populated with the most talented and eccentric personalities of the time. After losing her mother at an early age, she finds herself in constant conflict with a resentful stepmother and a jealous stepsister. When she meets the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, she falls deeply in love and they elope with disastrous consequences. Soon she finds herself destitute and embroiled in a torturous love triangle as Percy takes Mary’s stepsister as a lover. Over the next several years, Mary struggles to write while she and Percy face ostracism, constant debt, and the heartbreaking deaths of three children. Ultimately, she achieves great acclaim for Frankenstein, but at what cost?”

Antoinette May is an award-winning travel writer specializing in Mexico; May divides her time between Palo Alto and the Sierra foothills.

    
early version of  Frankenstein


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