Title: The Lady and Her Monsters

Author: Roseanne Montillo

Publisher: William Morrow 2013

Genre: History; Literature

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Books - W51

The Lady and Her Monsters by Roseanne Motillo brings to life the fascinating times, startling science, and real-life horrors behind Mary Shelley’s gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein.

Montillo recounts how—at the intersection of the Romantic Age and the Industrial Revolution—Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein was inspired by actual scientists of the period: curious and daring iconoclasts who were obsessed with the inner workings of the human body and how it might be reanimated after death.

With true-life tales of grave robbers, ghoulish experiments, and the ultimate in macabre research—human reanimation—The Lady and Her Monsters is a brilliant exploration of the creation of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s horror classic.

A fascinating look at the creation of the classic Frankenstein. Montillo goes beyond the basic story of Mary Shelley crafting the tale during a dark and stormy night house party. Instead, we get an in depth look at the influences from history and contemporaries. We get a peek inside Shelley's life with Percy Shelley, her sister Jane, and a variety of interesting characters. I was taken with the depth of research from Montillo in bringing the time period and circumstances to light. My only complaint is that at times the book read slowly. I would have liked a bit more brevity in a few parts, but overall I was sucked into Mary Shelley's world!