Monsters: The Passion and Loss that Created Frankenstein

by Sharon Dogar

Overview

1814: Mary Godwin, the 16-year-old daughter of radical socialist and feminist writers, runs away with a dangerously charming young poet—Percy Bysshe Shelley. From there, the two young lovers travel a Europe in the throes of revolutionary change, through high and low society, tragedy and passion, where they will be drawn into the orbit of the mad and bad Lord Byron. But Mary and Percy are not alone: they bring Jane, Mary's young step-sister. And she knows the biggest secrets of them all . . . Told from Mary and Jane's perspectives, Monsters is a novel about radical ideas, rule-breaking love, dangerous Romantics, and the creation of the greatest Gothic novel of them all: Frankenstein.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783448029
Publisher:	Andersen Press, Limited
Publication date:	10/01/2020
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	1,041,295
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.80(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Sharon Dogar works with adolescents as a psychotherapist.

Editorial Reviews

"A thoughtful and utterly fascinating story of love, hate and artistic creation." —Sally Nicholls


"Poignant, lush and satisfying – a thought-provoking book." —Guardian


"This gripping tale brings Mary Shelley to life." —Independent


"The historical details are deftly woven into this riveting tale. A book to curl up with." —Irish Times


"This thoughtful novel can be a real gift to English teachers everywhere." —LoveReading4Schools


"I hugely enjoyed this compelling and passionate reimagining of the tumultuous teenage years of Mary Shelley." —Bookseller


"[An] interesting, compelling, meaty novel." —School Librarian


"Dogar writes Shelley as a revolutionary but one that is tangible and compassionate. Her monologues are ones that feel poignant and continue to ring true throughout her journeys in the book. She manages to ground Shelley in a way that shows a new side to the mother of monsters and allows the reader to live through her life intimately." —NYALitFest Newsletter

From the Publisher

2020-07-14
A studious, if salacious, retelling of young Mary Shelley’s life, pre-Frankenstein.

Idolizing her deceased, feminist mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, and scorning her siblings and stepmother, Mary Godwin wants to be a respected writer. In 1814, 16-year-old Mary follows 20-something Romantic author Sir Percy Bysshe Shelley (already married and father of two) across Europe and into poverty with her 16-year-old stepsister Claire (nee Jane)—first a third wheel, then the third member of their dysfunctional polyamorous relationship—in tow. Pregnancies, deaths, and suicides real and threatened ensue as the trio live by their principles, inviting scandal but surprised by ostracism. Despite numerous narrators, ecstatic epistles, and excerpts from their published works, the characters are difficult to connect with and, often, unlikable. The trio’s inconsistency undermines their oft-repeated fiery rhetoric and radical philosophies while their panoply of sexual behaviors—polyamory, free love, bisexuality—get introductions but little illumination. Scholars of the Shelleys already know the plot points but may be amused by the speculative reconstruction of Claire while other readers may be hampered by the leaden language, Gothic floridity, and late introduction of Frankenstein-specific material. Despite the initial ages of the Godwin teens, this is less a YA novel than a soporific if soap opera–worthy adult tale of self-absorbed, self-righteous artists.

Monstrously long and far from electrifying. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 16-adult)

Kirkus Reviews