She Made a Monster

Written by Lynn Fulton · Illustrated by Felicita Sala

On a stormy night, a young writer dreams of a monster, birthing a legendary tale.

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48 pages

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Bookroo's summary

On a stormy night, young Mary Shelley faces a daunting challenge: create the ultimate ghost story by morning. Inspired by her mother's legacy and pressured by Lord Byron's deadline, she struggles with ideas. Exhausted, she dreams of a creature that defies humanity, sparking the birth of a legendary monster. Discover the origins of a timeless tale and the night that changed literary history forever.

From the publisher

A 2018 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books

On the bicentennial of Frankenstein, join Mary Shelley on the night she created the most frightening monster the world has ever seen.

On a stormy night two hundred years ago, a young woman sat in a dark house and dreamed of her life as a writer. She longed to follow the path her own mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, had started down, but young Mary Shelley had yet to be inspired.

As the night wore on, Mary grew more anxious. The next day was the deadline that her friend, the poet Lord Byron, had set for writing the best ghost story. After much talk of science and the secrets of life, Mary had gone to bed exhausted and frustrated that nothing she could think of was scary enough. But as she drifted off to sleep, she dreamed of a man that was not a man. He was a monster.

This fascinating story gives readers insight into the tale behind one of the world’s most celebrated novels and the creation of an indelible figure that is recognizable to readers of all ages.