Maurice, or the Fisher's Cot Book

This is the long-lost story by Mary Shelley recently discovered in a Tuscan country house. Written for Laurette, the 11-year-old daughter of Mary Shelley's friend and fellow exile in Italy, Lady Mountcashell, Mary sent a copy to her father, writer and publisher William Godwin in London. Deemed too short for publication, the manuscript disappeared and was presumed lost. It was written in 1820, two years after the publication of Frankenstein, when Mary Shelly was still only 22, but had already borne Percy Shelley four children, seen three of them die and was sunk in depression. Below the surface simplicity and attractiveness of this story there runs a deep current of melancholy. Set on the Devon coast near Torquay, it begins with a funeral and tells of a boy who has lost his parents and of a father whose son has been abducted. This edition includes the text in full, including a number of deletions, changes and errors made by the author, and a long introduction by Claire Tomalin--author of a major biography of Mary Shelley's mother--which discusses the literary and psychological significance of this story. (Ages 9 years+)Read More