Title- Love and Fury
Author- Samantha Silva
Publisher- Allison and Busby Ltd.
Pages- 276
Rating- 3.5/5
Summary- Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of author Mary Shelley is considered to be the mother of feminism. Her liberal ideas were quite ahead of her time, so she faced much resistance from her family and society. Her life was not at all smooth. Starting from extreme ill-treatment by her parents for being a girl child to betrayal by two lovers, she had endured them all. In this book, while in labour, she tells her story to her soon-to-be-born daughter Mary.
Review- This is a beautiful book where the author has brilliantly portrayed the life of people in the eighteenth century. Her choice of words has brought to life Wollstonecraft and the way she fought for the rights of women. She died eleven days after giving birth to the creator of Frankenstein. In this book, the author has reimagined her story. There is also mention of the French Revolution and its effect on England and its people.
The story is told from the point of view of two characters- Mary Wollstonecraft and the midwife. Through the midwife's words, the readers get an idea about the present time, whereas, through Mary, they get an idea about her past. Mary Wollstonecraft was a remarkable woman whose thoughts were relatively modern. Through this book, the author has brought to life a vital woman whom history has almost forgotten. During her time, women were like showpieces aiming to make themselves presentable to men. They had no dream of their own. She wanted to shatter this dogma, so she fought for it and set herself as an example. She started a school to educate women so that they could learn to have their aspirations. She wrote books and participated in intellectual discussions where she was the only woman present. Her husband, William Godwin, admired and respected her views, which was surprising considering the time.
The book is a bit slow-paced, which made it difficult for me to continue at times. Otherwise, it is a brilliant book. Though I was aware of Mary Shelley, it was pretty naive of me that I had no idea about her mother. This book helped me to learn about her. I am highly grateful to the author for writing such a book. Historical fiction lovers can check this out.
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