Scan barcode
dee9401's review against another edition
3.0
I’m a big fan of Mary Shelley and her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley so I had to read their travelogue of two separate trips to Europe in 1814 and 1816. I was a little disappointed, mostly by their condescending remarks about the people they met in France, Germany, Switzerland and Holland. They also weren’t too happy with the towns and accommodations along their trip. It reminded me a little of Mary’s mother’s travelogue: Letters Written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
However, the descriptions of nature are striking, especially Percy’s thoughts in his second letter about Mont Blanc and the glaciers around Chamouni (called Chamonix today). Of Mont Blanc, he writes “Nature was the poet, whose harmony held our spirits more breathless than that of the divinest” (p. 152). And reflecting on a glacier, “there is an awful grace in the very colours which invest these wonderful shapes” (p. 155). I actually enjoyed Percy Shelley’s prose descriptions of nature more than his poem, Mont Blanc: Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni, which closed out this volume.
However, the descriptions of nature are striking, especially Percy’s thoughts in his second letter about Mont Blanc and the glaciers around Chamouni (called Chamonix today). Of Mont Blanc, he writes “Nature was the poet, whose harmony held our spirits more breathless than that of the divinest” (p. 152). And reflecting on a glacier, “there is an awful grace in the very colours which invest these wonderful shapes” (p. 155). I actually enjoyed Percy Shelley’s prose descriptions of nature more than his poem, Mont Blanc: Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni, which closed out this volume.
jordynsbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
enjoyability 3/5 but educational wise like a 4 it was v fun seeing their influence on each others writing
skittyrreads's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Mf really broke his ankle and made it everyone's problem.
taun's review against another edition
5.0
A rather fascinating travel narrative from the perspectives of Mary Shelley & her husband, Percy Shelley (with her sister Claire) from trips taken 1814 & 1816.
Part journal, part letters, & one poem, 'Mont Blanc' (Percy Shelley), the details recorded are often stunning looks at the countries through which the party travelled, but also offer a far more realistic outlook as well. The heat, questionable people, travel issues, terrible lodgings, to mention a few.
I read this out of a desire to further understand the life of Mary Shelley, & while the travelogue often presents a more romantic worldview, the reality of Mary's life during these years were often anything but. Miscarriages, infidelity, depression, societal ostracism, poverty... these were all recurring & often devastating themes of Mary's life.
Overall, a helpful collection for the lay historian, or those who simply want to further understand Mary & the era itself.
Part journal, part letters, & one poem, 'Mont Blanc' (Percy Shelley), the details recorded are often stunning looks at the countries through which the party travelled, but also offer a far more realistic outlook as well. The heat, questionable people, travel issues, terrible lodgings, to mention a few.
I read this out of a desire to further understand the life of Mary Shelley, & while the travelogue often presents a more romantic worldview, the reality of Mary's life during these years were often anything but. Miscarriages, infidelity, depression, societal ostracism, poverty... these were all recurring & often devastating themes of Mary's life.
Overall, a helpful collection for the lay historian, or those who simply want to further understand Mary & the era itself.
drlove2018's review against another edition
3.0
Didn't find the contents to be terribly fascinating of itself, but I was intrigued by the origin and development of this text, which was a collaborative project that grew out of a shared journal that Mary and PB Shelley both wrote in during their initial elopement journey and subsequent European travels together. Echoes of their respective descriptions of places and people appeared in autonomously-credited later works by both authors. Some sections attributed to Mary were actually written by Percy, and other sections Mary completely rewrote from her own original journal entries. In the preface, Percy is writing intentionally and explicitly *as* Mary, recasting the "History" for publication as a conventional female-authored travel journal, rather than a collaboratively-created documentation of the scandalous elopement of a 16-year-old girl and a married man. Very interested in the ideas and questions this raises about collaborative authorship and gender roles in Romantic literature.
cilly_karma's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
2.5
Interesting lives, not such interesting writing.