REVIEW: Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge

Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein, written and illustrated by Lita Judge, is a haunting YA biography of Mary Shelley with moody watercolor illustrations on each page. Written in free verse, the atmospheric novel details the heartbreaking life of one of the most famous female authors, Mary Shelley. Judge includes extensive backmatter detailing specifics of Shelley's life, including information about what Mary herself enjoyed reading throughout her life, and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources. This ambitious novel does everything it promises to do and more. Judge’s attention to detail is noteworthy as she spent years researching Shelley’s life and chose to write the verse biographical novel in nine parts, just as it took Mary nine months to write Frankenstein, and to carry her children. The book consists of over 300 pages of continuous narrative verse with the verse mimicking the conversational and confessional nature of a diary. While written as a biography of Mary Shelley, the novel contains fascinating insight into the plight of women, the burgeoning growth of science, political unrest, and abusive relationships in 19th-century England.

The tone of Mary's Monster is melancholic and dark. The novel reads like a dramatized version of Mary’s journals as it is written from Mary’s perspective and includes dates like diary entries. The free verse style of the poems does not have a set rhythm, but each poem is accompanied by gothic watercolor, further creating an ominous and dreary atmosphere. Themes of love, infidelity, grief, death, and regret permeate the novel as Mary attempts to live life on her own terms, just as her father taught her. To highlight the gritty reality of Mary’s life, Judge relies on heavy symbolism, metaphor, and simile. Storms symbolize moments of passion and change; Mary feels “as if a bolt of lightning shoots through her soul” after she meets Percy, and “black clouds gather ominously” when she, Percy, and her sister Claire flee from their home to Paris. Judge uses simile to express the times Mary cannot share her own heartbreak with Percy, “because his own thoughts / snap at his heels like hounds.” Similarly, metaphors depict the desolate landscape as the three walk the French countryside after the ravages of the French Revolution, as Mary notes that “the only crops that grow are gravestones and ghosts.” The poem "Pain" is highly representative of Mary’s Monster because it exemplifies the central conflict of Mary’s life: the tension between the intellectual power of words and the emotional weight of her personal life.

Pain

Shelley believes words can heal

the pain of an entire world,

but I begin to fear

they will never heal his own.

This realization makes the ground

beneath my feet

feel as if it were slowly giving way,

like grains of sand

being swept adrift by waves inexhaustibly 

beating themselves against the shore.

I can’t stop the creeping sense

that no matter how much I love Shelley

someday we will all be drowned 

in his pain.

To introduce this poem to students, I would start with a discussion and ask high school students if they believe that all classic literature is written by boring, unrelatable people. After our discussion, I will read the poem aloud and ask if anyone can relate to Mary’s feelings, or even Percy's. From there, I would ask if anyone knew of the backstory of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or how old she was when she wrote it. I would then select an excerpt from Frankenstein to share with the class. This book would also pair well with either an English unit as back matter for Frankenstein, or a history class due to its engaging introduction to women’s rights in England.

Teens will identify with Mary due to their age and will enjoy learning the unbelievable background to one of the most iconic horror stories ever written. While an excellent biography of Mary Shelley, it also serves as an intriguing introduction to political realities of 19th century England. Teens will be captivated by the tragic life of Mary who begins her literary career at 17 after the death of her first born child and the unstable relationship with her married lover. The new Netflix adaptation of Frankenstein by Guillermo Del Toro will serve to further stoke interest in the biography of its writer. Mary’s Monster is a great read for students who enjoy biographies and horror. While the biography is engaging for YA audiences it is only appropriate for mature teens due to heavy topics such as sex, drug use, and suicide.

Judge, L. (2018). Mary’s monster: Love, madness, and how Mary Shelley created Frankenstein. Roaring Brook Press. ISBN: 978-1626725003