From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up–This enthralling novel delves into the life of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley during her tempestuous relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley and explores the basis for writing
Frankenstein. While many readers may have heard of the novel, most will be unaware of the underlying theological and philosophical issues with which the author wrestled. Shelley's parents were progressive thinkers, and she was raised to participate in intelligent debate with the poets, novelists, and philosophers of the day. When she was 16, she had an affair with Percy, who was married. Her stepsister accompanied them to Europe, thus beginning a convoluted set of affairs with poet Lord Byron and his friends. The Shelleys faced many tragedies, and both struggled with depression and night terrors. However, the author portrays a great love between them that makes the story as much a romance as a psychological tale. Bennett takes liberty with a couple of events, including when and under what circumstances
Frankenstein was written, but, ultimately, readers won't mind. Much as Laurie Halse Anderson does in
Speak (Farrar, 1999), the author grabs readers and takes them on a believable journey into a psyche beset with demons.
–Cheri Dobbs, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Gr. 10-12. It's not hard to see why British novelist Bennett, whose work has never previously been published in the U.S., was moved to build a novel around Mary Shelley's scandalous life, beginning with Mary's seduction at 16 by married Romantic poet Percy Shelley, and concluding with her completion of
Frankenstein. Though never graphic, the plot is both racy and dramatic, incorporating a subsequent, devastating affair between Percy Shelley and Mary's stepsister, suicides, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and the deaths of three of her four children. Many YAs will recognize the novel's themes of passion and disillusionment, although some readers' attention may flag as the impulsive teen "drowning in love" transforms into a melancholy, bereaved mother and driven writer. In the end, Bennett's insightful telling will probably be most appreciated by those fresh from classroom studies of
Frankenstein. Have nonfiction resources ready, though, because the novel lacks an endnote to clear up lingering questions--e.g., Did Mary
really make a memento of the dead Percy's half-charred heart, "snatched from his funeral pyre"?
Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
