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louiza_read2live's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic biography! It is written in alternate chapters to show the connection between the two authors and the huge influence the mother had on her daughter even though they never got to know each other in real life as Mary Wolstonecraft died 8 days after giving birth to Mary Shelley. The alternate chapters, albeit a clever idea and possibly helpful to most people, were confusing to me, so I decided to read first all Mary Wolstoncraft's chapters and then all Mary Shelley's chapters. Reading the book this way, the strong connection between the two authors was still illuminating, but less confusing to me than going back and forth through the different time periods they lived. I loved the writing style, the historical information, and the information on their lives. I also enjoyed getting a good look not only at the mother and daughter, their writings, and their family relationships, but also we get to know closely the men in their lives and their works: William Godwin and Percey Shelley, as well as a glimpse in Lord Byron. I had known a little that they were bad, especially Lord Byron, but I wasn't prepared for the seemingly narcisstic personalities that these three men exhibited. A wonderful biography that I highly recommend!
lindzlovesreading's review against another edition
4.0
This was the book I needed. It was like reading a Gothic novel. The Mary's (as I have now come to call them) are saint like in their feminism, which is as ridiculous as it is perfect for a Gothic tone. And I loved it. The parallels between The Mary's don't completely work, because there are two many different beats, even in their tragedies. But the fact that these two women wrote two of the most important books in history is my favorite fact. And yes, Frankenstein is one of the most important books, in just the way we view genre and technology. I will fight you on this. This was such an easy book to sink into for me. I adore this time period. And I adored spending time with these prickly, irreparable intelligent Mary's who dared to imagine and play with ideas.
fairytalesfolkloreandfantasy's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
0hwell00hwell's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
kirstenrose22's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve been wanting to read this for a long time and finally got around to it. And I really thoroughly enjoyed it. The theme - as in so many things - seems to be Strong Amazing Women And The Men Who Disappointed Them. You really get a sense of the character and personality of all the people here - and it’s a large and varied cast. Really great.
morgane29999's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
happylilkt's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 Very good writing and the audiobook performance is excellent.
The classics book club I'm a part of uses a framework for planning the year's reads. Every fall we do a play, every March, Shakespeare. We do a children's classic in May, and every summer we do a big fat book. And, in recent years, we started including a literary biography to read each January. Last year we decided to read some Mary Wollstonecraft in preparation for this dual biography of Mary W. and her (now) more famous daughter Mary Shelley.
It's really Mary Wollstonecraft who shines in this biography, or at least, she was the one I couldn't get enough of. She was renowned for her independent thinking—Aaron Burr was so inspired by her essays on women's rights that he decided to give his daughter Theodosia a classical education superior to what most boys received in those days. (And, apparently he visited Mary Wollstonecraft's widower William Godwin and dandled little Mary Shelley on his knee, figuratively speaking).
Anyway, if you are interested in this one, I recommend reading excerpts from Vindication of the Rights of Women or some other essay by Mary Wollstonecraft first. But it's definitely not necessary. I listened to the audiobook by Susan Lyons and it was superb. The only confusion is that mother and daughter are both called Mary and the author chose to alternate their stories... a little confusing on audiobook, but eventually you find your way.
As I listened / read this one I thought about how many women's issues there are and ever have been. I thought about how these women tried to find true companionship, financial and spiritual independence and emotional and physical safety in a time when women were very limited legally and socially—marriage could be a trap and a prison, but they had very little status and safety without it.
I'm grateful for the wonderful brain and honest spirit of Mary Wollstonecraft and the influence she had on men and women that led to greater rights for women today.
Highly recommend!
The classics book club I'm a part of uses a framework for planning the year's reads. Every fall we do a play, every March, Shakespeare. We do a children's classic in May, and every summer we do a big fat book. And, in recent years, we started including a literary biography to read each January. Last year we decided to read some Mary Wollstonecraft in preparation for this dual biography of Mary W. and her (now) more famous daughter Mary Shelley.
It's really Mary Wollstonecraft who shines in this biography, or at least, she was the one I couldn't get enough of. She was renowned for her independent thinking—Aaron Burr was so inspired by her essays on women's rights that he decided to give his daughter Theodosia a classical education superior to what most boys received in those days. (And, apparently he visited Mary Wollstonecraft's widower William Godwin and dandled little Mary Shelley on his knee, figuratively speaking).
Anyway, if you are interested in this one, I recommend reading excerpts from Vindication of the Rights of Women or some other essay by Mary Wollstonecraft first. But it's definitely not necessary. I listened to the audiobook by Susan Lyons and it was superb. The only confusion is that mother and daughter are both called Mary and the author chose to alternate their stories... a little confusing on audiobook, but eventually you find your way.
As I listened / read this one I thought about how many women's issues there are and ever have been. I thought about how these women tried to find true companionship, financial and spiritual independence and emotional and physical safety in a time when women were very limited legally and socially—marriage could be a trap and a prison, but they had very little status and safety without it.
I'm grateful for the wonderful brain and honest spirit of Mary Wollstonecraft and the influence she had on men and women that led to greater rights for women today.
Highly recommend!