Rating: 4 stars (Spotlight Review)

The legend of how Mary Shelley came to write Frankenstein has become almost as enduring as the book itself. People seem drawn to the romantic idea of four regency-era writers, gathered together in a dark Swiss villa, telling ghost stories by candlelight, and inspiring each other to tales of horror and greatness. However, even though the eternal Frankenstein, and Polidori's The Vampyre would arise from that night, the tragic events that would unfold in the following years are much more horrifying and sad then anything that these great writers could have penned themselves.

The inhabitants of the villa that night were not all yet well known. Some, such as Lord Byron, who was renting the villa, had made quite a name for himself already. His poetry and his dashing behavior had made him an incredibly sought-after romantic figure among women of the time. He had been described by Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". His relationship with Lamb would leave her a social pariah and dead from alcoholism in her thirties. Byron's physician, Dr. John Polodori was also in residence. Although Polidori and Byron had a somewhat contentious relationship, Polidori both loved and hated Byron and would go on to write The Vampyre, basing the title character, Lord Ruthven, after Byron himself.

The other three in the villa were in their own contentious relationship at that time. Mary Shelley was travelling with her (not-yet) husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, and her step-sister Claire Claremont. Percy had run off with Mary, leaving his wife and children behind in England. They brough Claire with them because she wanted to chase after Lord Byron but Percy was a believer in "free love" and was openly exercising this belief with Claire. Mary wasn't as open to the idea as Percy wanted her to be and so much of the character of Victor Frankenstein was colored by Percy's own character, as well as that of her father, who had always been very distant and unresponsive to her.

Aside from Claire, the four authors in the villa would each go on to write landmark poetry and novels that would change the way the world viewed such things. Unfortunately, along the way they would each lose children in the process and unltimately their own lives. Mary suffered from the loss of three of her children before seeing her last child, Percy Florence, grow to manhood. The child of Claire and Lord Byron, Allegra, would die at the age of five in a convent that Byron had consinged her to after he grew bored with raising her. Polidori, Percy, and Byron himself each died young. Only Mary and Claire would live long enough to see the great works that had been created become appreciated by the general public, and the men become romanticized in legends.

The wealth of information that is provided in this book is invaluable for fans of Mary Shelley, history, romantic poetry ... I could go on but suffice to say that this book holds a deeps interest for many people. It was informative, nonjudgemental, and not at all boring. With the recent upswing in regency-era writing it is a good addition for anyone's reading list.
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Publisher: Back Bay Books (August 20, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0316066400
ISBN-13: 978-0316066402
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