Romantic Outlaws

Nessa biografia dupla, conhecemos detalhes sobre a vida de Mary Wollstonecraft e de sua filha Mary Shelley, duas mulheres que romperam os paradigmas sociais de sua época. Wollstonecraft foi uma das primeiras feministas e escritoras políticas que recebeu por seus escritos e era uma importante editora no auge do iluminismo. Já sua filha, inspirada pelos livros da mãe que morreu por conta do seu nascimento, escreveu um livro tão importante, inovador e brilhante que deu origem a dois gêneros ao mesmo tempo: o terror e a ficção científica.Esse livro me fez chorar, vibrar e me surpreendeu em cada mudança de capítulo (intercalando mãe e filha)!Obrigatório para quem ama o trabalho delas e quer ler histórias inspiradoras de mulheres fortes!

Fabulous book. Informative, extremely well researched, fun to read - I could hardly put it down.

If I could give this six stars, I would. This is beautifully constructed, well written and impeccably researched.

This book is nothing short of stunning. An utter tour de force of clarity, engagement and compassion. Justice indeed for these two indivisible trailblazers.What's more Romantic Outlaws is written in a gloriously eloquent yet accessible style, rendering it able to satisfy a wide range of audiences from the scholarly to the newcomer. Quite simply not just the best biography on Mary Shelley or Mary Wollstonecraft that I've read but the best biography full stop.I'm a longstanding devotee of both Mary's lives and works. Shelley in particular. There's not a biography on Mary Shelley I've not read, nor a work of hers I don't own. I've her journals, her letters and even a facsimile edition of the original scrawled on manuscript of her most famous work, Frankenstein which is a prized possession. You could say I'm a huge fan. I therefore came to this biography intrigued but with only moderate expectations. Biographies of such luminaries tend to walk one of two paths: worthy, stodgy and leaden or overly flowery, overly dramatised froth. Yet Charlotte Gordon has created a unique work here that somehow reaches into the lives of both women, presents in stunning detail the events, uses lively, engaging prose and makes them breath. This is as close as I believe it is possible to get to a contextualised truth without being there.The unique interleaving of lives appealed to me hugely. It reminds me of a novel by one of the masters of humanistic storytelling, (Wilkie Collins, Stephen King) in the way character drives narrative, just as it does in life. As I neared the end of each chapter I wanted to stay with that storyline. Yet as soon as I picked up the thread of the alternate, I felt exactly the same.Fiction is my main love as a reader. This text was so well structured that, whilst still being rigorously accurate, it reads like one of the best novels. After all, when you think about it, the times these women lived in, the lives they lead were chock full of so many significant happenings and developments as to appear more fictionalised than real.And yet... Ms Gordon also manages to highlight simply through skilful juxtaposition the gaping holes these two women left in each others lives. Two crucial chapters in the first third of the book illustrate this most poignantly: The Sublime and Rapturous Moment (in which Mary Godwin meets and falls for Shelley) is immediately followed by "On The Education of Daughters" featuring Mary Godwin's hopes for female emancipation. As I turned the page from one to the next I realised with a jolt just what a masterpiece this work is. Gordon allows the two Mary's to speak to each other by the co-location of their imaginings of each other. By presenting the strands thusly, the reader can't help but muse on whether Mary Godwin would have taken the same path had her mother been a living rather than an almost godlike ghost in her head. And how would Mary Wollstoncraft feel, knowing all her hopes and desires for a woman to be a free spirited, unvanquished intellectual would be realised by her own daughter? A tragedy indeed for both women that they only shared this world for ten days.Despite their incredible significance , the lives of these two women contain universal truths. The need to be heard, to be valued, to be loved. But few of us have the strength of courage to defy societal expectations in as many ways and as bravely as they did. As a woman and a feminist I am immensely grateful to both Mary's for their bravery. I've no doubt my life is better for the way they pushed forward at a time they would indeed have been seen as 'outlaws'. Truly groundbreaking, extraordinary people at a time of immense social development and glorious literary richness. Yet here they're never idealised. They're presented with all their mistakes and foibles and not overly revered. And this makes them all the more accessible.I'm indebted to Ms Gorden for this incredible work. It's as enjoyable as it is informative. I consider this to be essential reading for anyone interested in not just these women but the historical period it is written in or the nature of inequalities still faced by women today.Wide ranging appeal and wide ranging importance make this a seminal work. I'd urge you to buy it.Thank you, Ms Gordon. You've produced a definitive work that breaths as much life and soul into its subjects as Victor Frankenstein did to his creation. I hope it finds as much recognition as it deserves. It's now got a coveted place on my bookshelves between A Vindication of The Rights Of Women and Mary Shelley's Journals. An utter triumph.

Maravilhoso!