Returning to Mary Shelley, in 1816, after her elopement , finding herself in Geneva with her future husband, Percy Bysche Shelley, the dashing George Gordon, Lord Byron, her step-sister Claire Claremont and other romantics she could claim to have outshone them all in creating a masterpiece that is still known and studied worldwide !
There was undoubtedly great competition amongst the poets, ( as well as amongst the women for the poets!) , and 18 year old Mary, daughter of well known feminist Mary Wollstencroft ,was not going to be outdone!
After a particularly stimulating evening’s discussion about galvanism Mary dreamed a waking dream that has occasioned many a nightmare in men, women and children ever since -that of Dr Frankenstein creating a monster from dead body parts, animal bone and sinew through utilising the wonder of electricity!
This poignant tale is most distressing because the resultant monster is never acknowledged – not even given a name, far less the father’s love , he so craves – so all of the desperate deeds of murder most foul that the monster does is a cry for love and attention. Quite advanced understanding for a teenager – although it might tell us something about her relationship with her own parents? When ultimately his creator dies the desperate monster throws himself on his funeral pyre and thus his existence remains a secret forever.
Tragically Mary’s husband was himself cremated on a funeral pyre only a few years later on the beach at Viareggio. He was drowned after his schooner was wrecked in a sudden storm – he was only a week away from his thirtieth birthday and greatly mourned.
Various films have been made about the English Romantic poets sojourn in Europe, notably Haunted Summer starring Laura Dern as Claire Claremont , and Gothic directed by Ken Russell with Natasha Richardson playing Mary Shelley and Julian Sands as Shelley. There is also a Spanish film Remando al viento (Rowing in the Wind) starring Liz Hurley -as Claire Claremont and Hugh Grant as Lord Byron.
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