During the Fall Term, the library celebrated the anniversaries of two enduring novels.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, 200th Anniversary
In 1816, Mary Godwin, just a teenager, traveled to Switzerland with her future husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley. They spent the summer in a villa near Geneva with poet Lord Byron, John William Polidori, and Mary’s stepsister, Claire Clairmont. The weather at the time was horrible, so Lord Byron proposed they each write a “ghost story.” Mary’s story became Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, which was published in 1818.
In 1816, Mary Godwin, just a teenager, traveled to Switzerland with her future husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley. They spent the summer in a villa near Geneva with poet Lord Byron, John William Polidori, and Mary’s stepsister, Claire Clairmont. The weather at the time was horrible, so Lord Byron proposed they each write a “ghost story.” Mary’s story became Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, which was published in 1818.
Our display featured a description of the “ghost story” challenge, an image of Mary’s rough draft, a sampling of the “monsters” throughout history, and library resources related to Frankenstein, including histories of the novel and related films.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, 150th Anniversary
Fifty years later, on the other side of the Atlantic, Louisa May Alcott agreed to write a “novel for girls” as part of a deal with an editor that would also help her father publish his own work. Louisa based her story on her family. She was Jo, of course. Her novel took only ten weeks to write and was an instant success.
Our display featured copies of Little Women, books about Louisa, and DVDs. (MFV)