The Making of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Description

'Invention...does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos' - Mary Shelley In the 200 years since its first publication, the story of Frankenstein's creation during stormy days and nights at Byron's Villa Diodati on Lake Geneva has become literary legend. In this book, Daisy Hay returns to the objects and manuscripts of the novel's genesis in order to assemble its story anew. Frankenstein was inspired by the extraordinary people surrounding the eighteen-year-old author and by the places and historical dramas that formed the backdrop of her youth. Featuring manuscripts, portraits, illustrations and artefacts, The Making of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein explores the novel's time and place, its people, the relics of its long afterlife and the notebooks in which it was created. Hay strips Frankenstein back to its constituent parts revealing an uneven novel written by a young woman deeply engaged in the process of working out what she thought about the pressing issues of her time: science, politics, religion, slavery, maternity, the imagination, creativity and community. This is a compelling and innovative biography of the novel for all those fascinated by its essential, brilliant chaos. 'A welcome addition...This book is an excellent introduction to the novel; and for those of us who know it well, it offers an excellent reminder of why it is so good.' - Times Literary Supplement

Daisy Hay is the author of Young Romantics: The Shelleys, Byron and Other Tangled Lives and Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance.

'Daisy Hay has produced an excellent introduction to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein which merits especial praise for its superb illustrations from the Bodleian's incomparable archive.' -- Miranda Seymour 'A beautifully produced book, lavishly stuffed with colour pictures ... However, the narrative itself is fascinating and erudite, and I found it really enhanced my understanding of the achievements of the book as well as its meaning.' * Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings * 'This book is an excellent introduction to the novel; and for those of us who know it well, it offers an excellent reminder of why it is so good.' * TLS *