Mary Shelley Archives - The Quick and the Read

Book Review: ‘Clairmont’ by Lesley McDowell

I’ve always been intrigued by the story of how ‘Frankenstein’ came into existence – the stormy summer of 1816 on the shores of Lake Geneva where Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron and John Polidori gathered to share their storytelling and pass the time. The rest, as they say, is history…

Except that Claire Clairmont, Mary Shelley’s step-sister, was also there that summer and is often forgotten in the light of the bigger, badder and much more infamous characters around her. I only really knew about her from reading Jeanette Winterson’s ‘Frankissstein’, a reimagining of that crazy summer and a whole lot more (sexbots!) I’m always here for stories about women whose voices have been lost to history, so I approached this book with enthusiasm.

Book Review: ‘The Darcy Myth’ by Rachel Feder

Happy publication day to this funny, thought-provoking, non-fiction book!

I am a ‘Pride and Prejudice’ fan. Not a super-fan, or a Janeite or an Austen obsessive, but I can enjoy the novel. I’ll never love ‘Mansfield Park’ (hideous A Level flashbacks) and I was the wrong generation to appreciate Colin Firth in THAT shirt (yes, I totally get it now…) but I totally respect the way that Jane Austen quietly wrote novels that are still part of the collective consciousness over 200 years after her death.

So I came to this book with purely an interest in a feminist reading of Mr Darcy by someone who really knows ‘Pride and Prejudice’ inside out – and has had the headspace to ponder on it at length as part of her career in academia. Rachel Feder is an associate professor in English at the University of Denver and really knows her stuff.

5 Classic Novels That I Love

During my time as an English Literature student (and then as an English teacher), I had to read a lot of classic novels. Some I liked, some I really didn’t (I’m looking at you, ‘Moby Dick’).

While I’m forever grateful that I did read these books that are considered to be the cream of Western Literature*, there are very few that really struck a chord and stuck with me. Here are just five that I’ve read and re-read – these are so good that I’ve come back to them repeatedly. Every reading is a revelation – I’m always astounded by how they change in my memory and understanding each time.

* Yes, I know there is a world out there beyond the Western canon but my course was pretty traditional and didn't really allow for this in a major way.  And I also know that women's writing tends to be sadly under-represented in the world of classics.  Never fear - I made up some of the gaps in my reading after university!

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‘Frankissstein’ by Jeanette Winterson

The shortlist for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2020 was recently announced. As humorous books are definitely my thing, I was quite heartened to see many of my own reading choices on there.

With this in mind, I thought it would be timely to revisit some of these funny and joyous novels, starting with ‘Frankissstein’ by Jeanette Winterson.

My Review

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this and was actually in two minds about requesting it for review – although I like Jeanette Winterson’s writing and am intrigued by Mary Shelley as a writer, I was less sure about the modernisation of ‘Frankenstein’ as a story about artificial intelligence and the future of extending human consciousness after death. I thought it might be a lot about medical morality and a bit unbelievable.

I was wrong to doubt Winterson. She has created a fascinating novel which is actually hard to describe in a way that does it justice. Partly it’s a kind of revisiting of ‘Frankenstein’ in the modern day with a trans doctor grappling with the implications of extending life (in some form, maybe brain activity separate from bodily function) while also encountering advances made in robotics and artificial intelligence. Entertwined with this is the story of Mary Shelley and her life, especially the period in which she was writing the original ‘Frankenstein’ novel.

However, this dual narrative description doesn’t really cover the intricacies of the book where fictional characters start to collide with historical ones, big ideas are explored and the reader is left with plenty of food for thought. What makes this book quite astounding though is the extent of what Winterson has crammed in: Brexit digs, literary references, humour (Ron Lord is grotesquely, hilariously awful), scientific theory, ideas about gender and identity, vivid description and comments on modern society and attitudes to change. I still don’t think I’ve managed to cover everything from this extraordinary book, and I’m also very aware that I’ll continue to make connections and think about this novel long after I have put it down.

I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read that also manages to be wildly entertaining and full of wry humour. The ideas presented might be big and scary and complex, but the way they are written is just brilliant.

I received a free copy of the novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Header photo with thanks to Laura Chouette for sharing their work on Unsplash.