Monster: The Story of a Young Mary Shelley (Life of Mary Shelley, Author of the Frankenstein Book)

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the book that changed the worldMonster: Publishing to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and a movie starring Elle Fanning as Mary Shelley, Monster is a brilliant fictionalized biography akin to The Other Boleyn Girl. Frankenstein: Two centuries ago this year, the young woman who invented science fiction was only 20 when she wrote the book that became Frankenstein. Mary Shelley said, "People ask how I, then a young girl, could think of, and dilate upon, so hideous subject?" Gothic Romance: Her father gave her a far better education than any woman of the age could hope for and made her the victim of ongoing incest. At 15, she became involved with one of the greatest poets in England and made love to him on her mother's grave. When she was 16, she escaped from home by running away for a six week walking tour of Europe and formed a ménage a trois with Shelley and her sister. Mary Shelley - Frankenstein: Her immediate influences were two of the greatest poets of the age. Her lover, Percy Shelley, coached her to expand her understanding of writing. Her mentor, Lord Byron, challenged her to prove she was as good a writer as the best poet-philosophers of the Enlightenment. Both men admired her mind, and both wanted more. By the time she was 20, she published the book that changed the world.

About the Author :
Mark Arnold holds degrees in science, professional writing, journalism and communication. While a master's student at the number one school of journalism in the world, the University of Missouri he became fascinated by what was then called, "New Journalism," during the mid 80s. While still a student, he began to apply the techniques of Wolf, Capote' and Thompson. He was selected as one of the top ten student science writers in the nation and has published non-fiction in several magazines. He elected to study for his Ph.D. at the same university Timothy Leary attended. The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa gave him a chance to learn as much about the research and the effects of communication as it taught him about the human condition. After more than a decade teaching feature writing at the college and university level, he left to pursue writing fiction. He provides critiques once a month for a writing club, NightWriters, in San Luis Obispo. Writers of the Future recognized him, twice, for novella length science fiction which gave him the confidence to begin this book. Monster, the story a Mary Shelley's early life represents five years of applying his skills of research, magazine feature story journalism and fiction writing. He lives on California's Central Coast where he gets his best ideas during daily beach walks.