Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein
- Subject
- Biography & Autobiography - Literary
- Age
- Teen
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 320
- Publisher
- Roaring Brook Press
- Size
- 16.5 cm × 23.6 cm
- ISBN
- 9781626725003
Pairing free verse with over three hundred pages of black-and-white watercolor illustrations, Mary’s Monster is a unique and stunning biography of Mary Shelley, the pregnant teenage runaway who became one of the greatest authors of all time.
Legend is correct that Mary Shelley began penning Frankenstein in answer to a dare to write a ghost story. What most people don't know, however, is that the seeds of her novel had been planted long before that night. By age nineteen, she had been disowned by her family, was living in scandal with a married man, and had lost her baby daughter just days after her birth. Mary poured her grief, pain, and passion into the powerful book still revered two hundred years later, and in Mary's Monster, author/illustrator Lita Judge has poured her own passion into a gorgeous book that pays tribute to the life of this incredible author.
A 2019 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book
A 2019 Amelia Bloomer Project Book
This title has Common Core connections.
Data provided by BiblioShare.
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What reviewers said
“Readers will be enthralled by the dark and exacting verse, beautifully accompanied by haunting black-and-white watercolor spreads. . . A must-purchase.”
“[T]his is a stirring, impeccably researched portrait of a remarkable woman and her literary 'progeny.' Much like Mary, Judge forges a Creature all her own.”
“Darkly evocative . . . Students of literature will appreciate the powerful poetry that brings life to Mary Shelley's story the way that Shelley herself breathed life into her novel of a scientist who animates a corpse.”
“A godsend for high school students approaching the Romantics with skepticism (and for teachers charged with demonstrating their relevance) . . . A booktalk-ready title with broad YA appeal.”
“Fans of [Mary Shelley] will be enamored with the effort put into this artistic portrayal.”
“Both timely and terrifying, Mary’s Monster revives an origin story too seldom told. Mary Shelley lives again in this arresting hybrid of a graphic novel in verse.”
“Both timely and terrifying.”
