Antonia's Review: 'Romantic Outlaws' by Charlotte Gordon

When I was at school I discovered my love for gothic literature. Stoker’s Dracula, Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Shelly’s Frankenstein all became quick favourite which I continue to re-read. Despite loving these books, I realised when watching ‘famous novels that shaped the world’ on BBC 2, I knew nothing about the lives of my favourite authors. So, being the lover of history that I am I decided to get to know the story of Mary Shelley and that’s when I came across ‘Romantic Outlaws’. 

 Gordon’s book gripped me from the first page. Her highly detailed account of the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley expresses how brilliant and clever these women were. The attention to detail throughout the book really makes these women come to life. Every so often influential works that the women had read at different points of their lives is mentioned making you feel as if you are getting to know them on a deeply personal level. Most of these works I have written down so I that I can read in the future (Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, Williams Julia, Coleridge’s Christabel, to name a few). Additionally, the way Godwin writes about various historical figures makes the book feel very familiar to the modern reader. One figure who it was very interesting to find out had been a “lifelong devotee of Mary Wollstonecraft” was Aaron Burr. Last year I had seen the play ‘Hamilton’ in the West End which presented Burr in his early years during the days of American independence.  So when I found out that when he was later driven out of America and became friends with Shelly’s father Godwin, I became thoroughly engrossed in the book. 

 The historical narrative really makes you feel as if you are watching these women’s lives unfold right before your eyes. This sense of familiarity you get when reading the book, I feel is very rare in accounts such as these, but this is what makes the book so enjoyable. I am now in awe of these two women, their struggles, their pain and their incredible achievements deserve to be known by all. I would highly recommend this book for those who would like to expand their knowledge on these two incredible women, the early days of feminist movement and women in the 18th and 19th centuries.