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The Making of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Series: The Making of
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( 20 ratings, 4 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Making of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein by Daisy Hay delves into the fascinating life and influences of Mary Shelley as she wrote her seminal work, Frankenstein. This biography explores the personal, intellectual, and cultural contexts that shaped Shelley's writing, offering insight into her relationships, inspirations, and the societal pressures of her time. It's an illuminating look at the origins of one of literature's most enduring novels.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're fascinated by the life and times of Mary Shelley and how her experiences and relationships shaped her most famous work, Frankenstein. It's perfect for those who appreciate insights into a writer's creative process and the historical context of a literary masterpiece, bringing to light the entwined personal and philosophical elements that influenced one of literature’s enduring classics.

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In this book, Daisy Hay explores the novel's time and place, its people, the relics of its long afterlife and the notebooks in which it was created. This is a compelling and innovative biography of the novel for all those fascinated by its essential, brilliant chaos.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! 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

Series: The Making of

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  • The Making of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
    ‘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...
    Paperback
    $4499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Making of The Wind in the Willows
    The Wind in the Willows has its origins in the bedtime stories that Kenneth Grahame told to his son Alastair and then continued in letters (now held in the Bodleian Library) while he was on holiday. But the book developed into something much more sophisticated than this, as Peter Hunt shows. He identifies the colleagues and friends on whom Grahame...
    Paperback
    $4499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Daisy Hay's work on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is praised for its rich illustrations and insightful narrative. It effectively enhances understanding of the novel's achievements and meaning, making it an excellent introduction for newcomers and a valuable reminder for those familiar with the original work.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781851244867

Publisher: Bodleian Library

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 September 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bodleian Library

Illustration: 55 Illustrations, color

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 170.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 402g

Pages: 128

About the Author

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

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