by Mary Shelley
First published 2000
In 1997, a long-forgotten manuscript sewn into paper covers emerges from an old crate in Italy. It's a story by Mary Shelley, the celebrated author of Frankenstein, written two years after her Gothic masterpiece. Though a charming moral tale for a child, Maurice bears Shelley's signature melancholy, beginning with a funeral and following a boy who's lost his parents. Even the happy ending carries a tragic twist. Biographer Claire Tomalin authenticates the rediscovered work, shedding light on the obscure histories of the two families whose lives it touched.
Genres: 20th-century, biographical-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, tragic-twist
Setting: Devon, England
179 pages · Paperback · University of Chicago Press