Just in time for Halloween, an essay in the Times Literary Supplement about a new book on Frankenstein that includes a facsimile of the originally published manuscript which is different from the final revised version of 1831.
Apparently there is some question about just how much Percy Shelley contributed to the writing of the novel. The editor of this new book suggests Pecry wrote about 4,000 to 5,000 words of the 75,000 word novel. The Times essay discusses the idea of collaboration and who gets credit for being the author. I dunno, can’t it be said that all books are collaborations of a sort? I mean between author and agent and author and editor and author and spouse and friends, lots of people are ultimately involved in the creation of a book. Does that mean they all get to appear as contributers? No. These days they appear in the thanks and acknowledgements. So why does Robinson, the editor of this new edition say “by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (with Percy Bysshe Shelley)?
The addition of Percy’s name really bothers me. I can’t help but feel there might be a bit of sexism creeping in to the addition of Percy. I mean, are Wordworth’s poem going to start being printed “by William Wordsworth (with Dorothy Wordsworth)”? Would anybody even consider doing something like that? I don’t think so. But take one of the most popular novels ever written by a woman and add her husband’s name to it because he had a heavy hand in editing. It doesn’t reveal anything of import about the story itself, it only serves to belittle Mary’s accomplishment. There’s a Halloween horror story for you.
On a happier note, my Bookman and I will be attending a ballroom dance Halloween costume party at our dance studio this evening. We had originally wanted to put together paired costumes of a literary sort, keeping in mind we have to be able to ballroom dance in them, but laziness taking over we opted for going to Party City. As a result my bookman is a dog and I am a cat. My only concern is my somewhat long tail flying out behind me as I spin and whacking other dancers. Maybe I am worrying over nothing. And if it does club people, at least it is soft.
Happy Halloween!
5000 words out of 75000? The editor in me says YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING! I deserve to have my name as co-author on hundreds of published books then. I also can’t help thinking, “Okay, then. Where is Camille Claudel’s name on all those works by Rodin?” I’m with you: it reeks of sexism.
Just love the idea of you and Bookman going as cat and dog. Hope your tail didn’t do too much damage (which, to tell you the truth, is another lovely image).
Happy halloween
. Unfortunately, I think you are right about the sexism involved here. This reminds me of those people who preferred to believe that Bramwell Bronte, rather than the Bronte women, had written those novels. Ted Hughes heavily edited Sylvia plath’s Ariel poems after she died and rearranged their order, it would be ridiculous to give him the credit for those poems.
I totally agree with you. Enough of men getting the credit
even if they only editing or a helping hand. Like you said how many women have helped their husband in writing. Are they going to get the credit. I don’t think so. Then someone has to come along 200 yrs. later and try to discredit her. I have also discovered that Shelly’s mother was one of the first feminists in modern times in England. I want to think of the story writen only by Shelly, not her husband. I am tired of men trying to take every credit.
Emily’s comment is interesting — I’m glad to hear from an editor that that kind of “help” isn’t unusual. And yes, I completely agree with your response to adding Percy’s name — books ARE collaborations but that doesn’t take away from what the author did. How annoying.
It does smack of sexism to me too. That’s awful.
I heard this debate about the authorship of Frankenstein on one of our national radio stations here in Australia a couple of months ago and although I feel I listened to both sides of the debate with an open mind I couldn’t help feeling that there was an element of sexism from the academic stating that Mary Shelly could not have been the main author of the book.
With you all the way on this one – get Percy’s name off the jacket. By all other biographical accounts he was as much an obstacle to the creative process as a support to it. Elizabeth Jane Howard and Kingsley Amis once wrote a chapter of each other’s novel for a laugh, and never once did they think the works should have been declared co-authored.
Hope you had a lovely Halloween dance – I am entranced by the thought of you whopping the other couples with your cats tail!
Emily, it’s nice to have the opinion of a working editor to confirm how ridiculous the proposition of giving Percy credit is! My tail turned out to be very well behaved
Evie, I was worried I might have been a little too knee-jerk on the sexism charge, but your comment makes me feel I am not off base after all!
susan, let’s go back and start putting the names of all the famous men writer’s wives on the books for all they help they gave in the writing. That would be a big eye-opener wouldn’t it?
Dorothy, you’re right, just because Percy made some suggestions doesn’t take away from the fact that the idea and the greatness of the story came from Mary’s mind.
Carrie, it is frustrating. I thought maybe we had gotten past thing kind of stuff. Guess not.
Karen, there was a radio debate? kudos to you for listening to both sides with an open mind and not throwing your radio out the window!
Litlove, I believe it that Percy was a bit of an obstacle. His editing seems a bit excessive and some of the examples of his changes don’t necessarily make the writing better. And my cat tail was disappointingly well behaved
I agree with you Stefanie. It does seem to be kind of [what is the word?] suspicious? Conspicuous? Sexist? Dumb? All four things?
To put Percy’s name on this cover seems well… chauvinistically reprehensible. Having said that though, it would be equally dumb to put some sorority sister on the cover…. a friend of Mary’s.
let’s call her — umm, Shelley Mary.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley and Shelley Mary.
[In the Introduction, we learn --> "Shelley Mary was the inspiration for Mary Shelley to make the monster JEWISH, hence the dual-authorship credits!"]
I seem to remember hearing in a class in college that Frankenstein came about from a challenge between the authors Mary Shelly, Percy Shelly, and …. someone else to see who could write the scariest story. Mary Shelly had a image of two glowing eyes, and that led her to writing Frankenstein.
As you can tell, the memory’s a bit vague, but I remember thinking that that was a great way for a book to come about.
It seems surprising that none of you are able to get past judging a book by its cover and actually reading the contents. Robinson’s edition of the novel highlights Percy’s amendments to the text in order to make important assesments of some of the comments made by leading second wave feminist criticics who rely too heavily on Rieger’s sexist 1974 edition in which he calls Percy a “minor collaborator.” The book is split into two sections, the second presenting the novel as it was originally written by Mary without Percy’s editorial changes. If you compare with his 1996 publication of the photo-facsimile of the original draft manuscripts you would find he is intent on interrogating those who wish to call Percy a collaborator, and discrediting those (Lauritsen 2007) who insist on crediting Percy with authorship of the text. Indeed (in response to Ms Barton) he says in his introduction that Percy’s editions are no more than one would expect from an editior on publication.
How can you have opinions without knowing the facts?
Has anyone READ “Frankenstein”? I find it difficult to believe that an eighteen-year-old wrote it without help. Could Percy Bysshe Shelley have helped Mary to write her story? Edit it? Read the novel and decide for yourself. The story goes that in June of 1816, poet Shelley, Mary Godwin, and Lord Byron were in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. One evening, during a rainy spell, while confined indoors and sitting around the fireplace, Byron challenged Mary and Percy to each write a ghost story. After several days of writer’s block, and probably an evening of discussing the possibility of animating lifeless matter – perhaps spurred on by recounting Luigi Galvani’s experiment using metal probes and electricity to make frog’s legs move – Mary supposedly had a vision during a restless sleep. Her idea – a scientist who creates lifeless matter. No doubt Mary’s atheist upbringing and her father’s mental abandonment of her after his wife died helped Mary to create her story. But write it herself? At 18? Some passages read like a more sophisticated and polished writer wrote them. Should we consider Mary Shelley to be “Frankenstein’s” only author? Absolutely. The idea was definitely her own. Play-writes and screenwriters are given writing authorship (with the exception of adaptations) despite directorial or editorial changes. So are authors. Ms. Shelley deserves her place in history, despite help or editing. But it’s nice to discuss what may have occurred.