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sneurah's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.75
arachan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
4.75
This is a heavy read, literally (at 550 pages) and metaphorically. I knew the basic biography for Mary Shelly and I knew her mother was the famous feminist figure Mary Wollstonecraft. I knew that Wollstonecraft had died of 'childbed fever' but I did not have any real understanding of just how revolutionary Wollstonecraft's work (and life) actually were.
This work is very in-depth and it is emotionally heavy. The recurring theme in both Marys' lives is the failing of the men who claimed to love and admire them.
This work is very in-depth and it is emotionally heavy. The recurring theme in both Marys' lives is the failing of the men who claimed to love and admire them.
saige_creature's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I was already inspired by Mary Shelley so learning of her mother was greater inspiration than I knew I could have. An incredibly crafted bio that makes you feel like you’re watching a historical drama!
I love how detailed each chapter is on the world’s state. It shows us how the world around them effects them and gives a clear picture of where they are. Some of these details go on a bit, but I am still grateful to learn so much!
I love how detailed each chapter is on the world’s state. It shows us how the world around them effects them and gives a clear picture of where they are. Some of these details go on a bit, but I am still grateful to learn so much!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Child death
book_soulsbee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
annamickreads's review against another edition
5.0
The way this biography is deftly constructed is honestly its best feature — a dual tale of Mary Wollstonecraft and her equally impressive daughter, Mary Shelley, the biography highlights the way the lives of mother and daughter parallel even though they barely knew one another. Each chapter goes back-and-forth between the two Mary's, charting the different directions of their lives and pointing out where they overlap.
Despite the knowledge that both women contributed extraordinarily to not only literature but women's rights, there aren't many people as ambitious as author Charlotte Gordon to fully document the intensity of either women's lives. As firm rebels against society's standards at the time, both mother and daughter had extramarital affairs, children out of wedlock, and encounters with some of history's equally famous rebellious spirits such as Thomas Paine and Aaron Burr.
Although the sheer size of this dual biography might seem intimidating, don't let it fool you; Gordon's engaging writing style and the alternation between mother and daughter keeps the reader constantly engaged. You would never expect that women who are lauded as literary greats would be, frankly, so human as they are depicted in these pages.
Also fuck Lord Byron lol
Despite the knowledge that both women contributed extraordinarily to not only literature but women's rights, there aren't many people as ambitious as author Charlotte Gordon to fully document the intensity of either women's lives. As firm rebels against society's standards at the time, both mother and daughter had extramarital affairs, children out of wedlock, and encounters with some of history's equally famous rebellious spirits such as Thomas Paine and Aaron Burr.
Although the sheer size of this dual biography might seem intimidating, don't let it fool you; Gordon's engaging writing style and the alternation between mother and daughter keeps the reader constantly engaged. You would never expect that women who are lauded as literary greats would be, frankly, so human as they are depicted in these pages.
Also fuck Lord Byron lol