Scan barcode
mallowmelt_butterblasts's review against another edition
4.0
this book was amazing and so well-developed. it entranced me to delve deep into the lives of these two incredible women and i would highly recommend it to people who are interested in female historical figures!
dee9401's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this dual biography & analysis of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley. The interleaving of chapters on each woman made the book easier to read and also kept it interesting. I learned a great deal more about Wollstonecraft than I knew before and also found some interesting tidbits on Mary Shelley. But, some of the greatest bits in this work are the discussions of the people, ideas, culture and events surrounding these two impressive women. A great resource to have on hand for future reference.
pixie_d's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
larryerick's review against another edition
3.0
This book about Mary Wollstonecraft, an English feminist, and her daughter Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, is probably not a book I'm properly qualified to review. I will admit to not being familiar with Wollstonecraft, though the name of her most famous work, The Vindication of the Rights of Women, was not unknown to me. Regardless, the reporting here makes it clear that Wollstonecraft was well before her time in advocacy for women's rights. On the other hand, her personal relationships with men seemed totally at odds with most of what she espoused for women in general society. To further prove my point of disqualification, I am not a big fan of poetry for reasons that have much more to do with clarity and directness of message than with skill of language manipulation, and this book is written by a poet about several very well known poets, in connection with the two main subjects of this book. Poetry lovers can stop reading now, because I'm bound to say something sacrilegious about poets and poetry, assuming I haven't already done so. William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge, Robert Southey, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and maybe a few I'm forgetting, are mentioned, with very broad degrees of intimacy, directly in relationship to the main subjects of this book. That's interesting to me, given that the two main subjects are best known as a feminist advocate and a fictional novelist. I could argue that this whole book is really just a poetry buff's deep dive into two women connected to famous poets. To an extent it is, but because of the vast resources of material available to the author, and the author's very commendable persistence and skill in researching all that material, the book is much more than just a poetry fan's treat. I will argue that the author's biases toward poetry and toward the two subjects seeps through too often, but the author gave me plenty of detailed reporting to allow me to come to somewhat different conclusions about both the two subjects and to the people connected to them. Should you be a potential reader who made it this far in the review, I can say with some degree of certainty that poetry lovers (especially of those mentioned often in this book), fans of Frankenstein or its author, and persons well versed in feminist scholarship, will very likely enjoy reading this book for extra information you are not likely to find anywhere else with such ease.
ventuslibra's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great achievement of the author for weaving together the stories of mother and daughter who are two influential female authors. I was surprised to read that this had never been done before. I mean come on, they both had such interesting lives and their adventures in love shocked english society. I really enjoyed Gordon's use of letters written by Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley's journal. Both these women had extraordinary lives yet were also wounded by the men they loved. It's not an easy read or a short one but worth the time if you want to know more of the woman who wrote Frankenstein.
musicdeepdive's review against another edition
4.75
I was concerned that the dual narrative structure would cause confusion or injure the book's flow in some way, but neither ends up happening. Gordon's research depth is superb, and I love how well she weaves this research into readable text that connects readers with the subjects. The similarities and differences alike in Wollstonecraft and Shelley make for a fascinating contrast, and I think this biographical approach helps with appreciating both women and their accomplishments significantly more.
elizabeth_1898's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful writing. Well organized. Provides an excellent depiction of both Marys' internal and external lives and the periphery characters that were crucial to their development. Would recommend.
erinkath's review against another edition
4.0
(My true rating is 4.5 stars)
All I can is...wow. This is a fantastic dual biography of two incredible, radical women. My first introduction to Mary Wollstonecraft was in high school, through Virginia Woolf's essay about her. That was my first introduction into feminism. I really enjoyed the essay and then I read parts of A Vindication of the Rights of Women and I was absolutely blown away. That a woman in that time period had the bravery to put her radical ideas out there made in awe of her, just as her own daughter, Mary Shelley, was in awe of her. This biography is comprehensive and super informative. The author did a great job to give historical context to the times the women to show us just how revolutionary they were in their own ways. I have a much deeper respect for these women and the work they produced.
All I can is...wow. This is a fantastic dual biography of two incredible, radical women. My first introduction to Mary Wollstonecraft was in high school, through Virginia Woolf's essay about her. That was my first introduction into feminism. I really enjoyed the essay and then I read parts of A Vindication of the Rights of Women and I was absolutely blown away. That a woman in that time period had the bravery to put her radical ideas out there made in awe of her, just as her own daughter, Mary Shelley, was in awe of her. This biography is comprehensive and super informative. The author did a great job to give historical context to the times the women to show us just how revolutionary they were in their own ways. I have a much deeper respect for these women and the work they produced.
beth2400's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. Every chapter was interesting and the book was an amazing read