ALA Booklist (Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Veteran biographer Reef adds yet another book to the growing stack of Mary Shelley biographies with this cogent account, which outlines key moments from Mary Shelley's unusual life, including her childhood, grief over her mother, unconventional education, heartbreak over losing her children, and her scandalous relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was married when he first met Mary. Her atypical lifestyle (she was routinely lambasted by the public and shunned by her family) plays a significant role here, but her writing career is undeniably fascinating: Frankenstein, hailed as the first sci-fi novel, was only the first of many books Mary Shelley wrote, and her subsequent volumes, spanning a variety of genres, were largely forgotten until relatively recently. Quotes from letters, diaries, and poems, as well as photos and illustrations, enliven the text, and Reef does an excellent job of putting Mary Shelley's life and work in context. Teen fans of Frankenstein will be doubly rewarded by both an account of the inspiration for the novel and the fascinating, scandal-rich life of its author.

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Shelley's reputation as the author of the classic novel Frankenstein--written when she was just twenty years old--has eclipsed the scandal and heartbreak that accompanied her romance, marriage, and childbearing with Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Reef (Jane Austen; The Brontk Sisters) chronicles Shelley's life capably, including commentary, primary source quotes, and black-and-white paintings and photographs throughout. Bib., ind.

Kirkus Reviews

"Every thing must have a beginning…and that beginning must be linked to something that went before."Mary Shelley's mother, the feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, died 11 days after her daughter was born. Reef (Victoria, 2017, etc.) describes Mary's upbringing at the hands of her "grave and severe" father, William Godwin, and her stepmother, Mary Jane Clairmont; and in the company of their children. Godwin was an atheist, a radical thinker, and a prolific author who believed in the importance of holistic education. His revolutionary views intrigued the precocious poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who frequented the Godwin home. Believing that Shelley was only interested in intellectual ideas, Godwin was shocked to discover that the charismatic poet and his 16-year-old daughter had fallen hopelessly in love. Hastily revising his liberal views, he forbade their union. Thus began a series of extraordinary adventures, from the flight of Mary and Percy to Europe, where they led a restless life, suffering the deaths of all but one of their children, culminating in Percy's tragic drowning off the Italian coast. Reef skillfully analyzes how Mary Shelley's terrible losses and her broad education and life experience influenced her extraordinary literary achievement, which included six novels in addition to the supremely influential Frankenstein.A thorough, sensitive portrayal of one of literature's most remarkable authors, illustrated with period portraits and engravings. (notes, bibliography, Mary Shelley's works, index) (Biography. 12-18)