Her Lost Words: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley

by Stephanie Marie Thornton

From A Vindication of the Rights of Woman to Frankenstein, a tale of two literary legends--a mother and daughter--discovering each other...and finding themselves along the way, from USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Marie Thornton.

1792. As a child, Mary Wollstonecraft longed to disappear during her father's violent rages. Instead, she transforms herself into the radical author of the landmark volume A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which she dares to propose that women are equal to men. From conservative England to the blood-drenched streets of revolutionary France, Mary refuses to bow to society's conventions and instead supports herself with her pen until an illicit love affair challenges her every belief about romance and marriage. When she gives birth to a daughter and is stricken with childbed fever, Mary fears it will be her many critics who recount her life's extraordinary odyssey...

1815. The daughter of infamous political philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft, passionate Mary Shelley learned to read by tracing the letters of her mother's tombstone. As a young woman, she desperately misses her mother's guidance, especially following her scandalous elopement with dashing poet Percy Shelley. Mary struggles to balance an ever-complicated marriage with motherhood while nursing twin hopes that she might write something of her own one day and also discover the truth of her mother's unconventional life. Mary's journey will unlock her mother's secrets, all while leading to her own destiny as the groundbreaking author of Frankenstein.

A riveting and inspiring novel about a firebrand feminist, her visionary daughter, and the many ways their words transformed our world.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Feminism, Audiobook, Biographical Fiction, British Literature

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 28, 2023

About the author

Stephanie Marie Thornton is a writer, librarian, and history teacher who has been obsessed with women from history since she was twelve. She is the USA Today bestselling author of Her Lost Words, And They Called It Camelot, and American Princess. She lives with her husband and daughter in Alaska where she enjoys running, baking, and beekeeping.

Reviews

[Abigail Bok · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Sigh.* I was so excited to read a novelization of the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Godwin Shelley, and my disappointment was commensurate with my anticipation. I’m afraid this is the sort of book that gives historical fiction a bad name.

First of all, Thornton feels herself at liberty to play fast and loose with the lives of her characters—not just the title characters but also such figures as Percy Bysshe Shelley, George Gordon, Lord Byron (whom she repeatedly styles George Gordon Byron), and even Napoleon Bonaparte. She fesses up to some of her alterations in the historical note—eliminating siblings, children, inventing literary works never written, changing dates—but those are only the tip of the iceberg of her errors. She may have read biographies of her characters and at least some of their works, but she certainly shirked her historical research. The book is riddled with glaring errors large and small about how life was lived in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in England, ranging from what people ate (and how they ate it) to what they wrote on—William Godwin would certainly be startled to find a hide of vellum in his hand, which Thornton appears to believe is a type of paper. She doesn’t understand England’s class system, imagining a baronet to be an aristocrat for instance. She even gets the date of the Battle of Waterloo wrong! Mary Godwin and Percy Shelley solemnly discuss Napoleon’s final downfall in June 1814.

And then there’s the language. I don’t think an early nineteenth-century conversation necessarily has to be written in pure Regency prose, but when the likes of Mary Godwin and Percy Shelley start talking like soap opera lovers, it harshes my mellow:
”Percy, this feels unhinged.”
“It is, but I’ve never felt like this with anyone, like we’re simply meant to be.”
I’m thinking, “Three hundred more pages of this?” and contemplating suicide. There are also all the usual B-novel boners, characters grinding or grating out words, characters huffing, even a “concern leaking from his eyes.” In its anachronisms this stuff lacks even the intentionality of a Bridgerton.

Why do I even give this book two stars then? Well, the main characters, whose flaming courage and originality can’t be fully erased even by this treatment. When they’re quoted arguing with the literati of their respective days, when they make their courageous choices and lead their unconventional lives with their heads held high, they have to be honored. But oh, what a missed opportunity is in this lazy, short-cutting book!

[Bon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happy release day!
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for offering a copy of this to review; this title's out March 28th.

Eh, time for my unpopular opinion hat again, as this didn't work for me. It was a combination of women's fiction and historical fiction, woven with a majority of historical accuracy, but no small amount of conjecture.

I'm a nerd for Mary Shelley, and have ended up down many Wikipedia rabbit holes or watching biopics, such that a lot of this was old ground for me to tread. I've also read Wollstonecraft's work, which I was not as impressed with as I thought I'd be, and was already familiar with much of her circumstances too. And I find historical fiction that is written as if true very misleading; my personality wants to believe all of it or nothing, so ~imaginings of what could have been are really not my thing. I think I missed the bottom line of this being fiction when I took the ARC. I quit about a third of the way in.

Nevertheless, the writing is beautiful and reads as very true to the eras presented. There is clearly a lot of research put into this work, and I was even inspired by different bits of information, like the mentioning of Godwin's published work on Wollstonecraft, to look into reading other material.

I do also feel the book would benefit from content warnings, as it opens with Wollstonecraft taking refuge from paternal alcoholic violence and domestic abuse at home, and reference to violence against an animal. It hit too close to home for this reader and perhaps me and the book got off on the wrong foot.

A well done book, but not something I felt enthused about as I read. Three stars for its objective value as a lens to analyze the two Marys.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, whose books I adore, has written a brilliant histfic tale about two remarkable women: Mary Wollstonecraft -- considered the first feminist -- and her daughter Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein -- considered the first science fiction writer.

Thornton has a gift for capturing women who change history with her elegant prose, authentic settings, and stories that grip from first page to last. A must-read!

[Jassmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was Mary's first memory, her father teaching her to read amid the musty scent of spindle mushrooms and autumn's final decay at the St. Pancras cemetery. Seated on her father's lap atop her mother's grave, she'd shivered against the damp while a crow rooted among piles of decomposing oak leaves and William Godwin guided her tiny finger over the chiseled letters of the tombstone.

If you know me, you won't be surprised that I had high hopes for this book - I am a bit obsessed with Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and have a deep intereset in Mary Wollstonecraft, so I was obviously impatiently waiting for this book. It... was a big disappointment though. This book changes the real stories way too much for it to satisfy anyone who already has some knowledge about these women. The book does have some interesting interpretation - for example why MWS didn't dedicate Frankenstein to her mother, but overall that wasn't able to save the book in my eyes.

This was still sort of enjoyable read and it did push me to finally give a go to History of a Six Weeks' Tour Through a Part of France, Switzerland, Germany and Holland and Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark which btw, both of those were so much better than this novel, so maybe go and read those instead? But my point is, it had a positive effect on my reading in the end, so that is a win.

I guess, I wouldn't really recommend this book? I mean, it is a good novel if you disregard that it's written about real people, but you don't really learn that much about the read people here. Maybe give Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley a try instead? I didn't read that one yet, but I heard that it's very readable and I have faith in Charlotte Gordon's scholarship.

BRed with Historical Fictionistas:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Shelby (catching up on 2025 reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

✍️ 𝗣𝗨𝗕 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 ✍️

Thank you #berkleypartner @berkleypub #BerkleyIG #penguinrandomhousepartner. And happy pub day to this magnificent reimagining of the stories of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley.

𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀
𝗕𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻
𝟰𝟰𝟴 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀
𝗣𝘂𝗯: 𝟯/𝟮𝟴/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 - 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆!


💭𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: Many of you have heard me raving about this book lately (in my stories, in comments, in DMs, etc). I can't recommend Her Lost Words enough. Because while it's full of unspeakable tragedy and loss, it's also incredibly inspiring and so, so brilliantly written.

Admittedly, I knew next to nothing about Mary Wollstonecraft or Mary Shelley, outside of their most famous works: 𝑨 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 and 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒊𝒏, respectively. And I had no idea they were mother and daughter. So I worried that my lack of background knowledge may impact my experience. It did not. The reader need not have any prior knowledge of either woman to become completely enamored by this gorgeous novel. In fact, one thing I especially loved was how the author made this so accessible. It was also very easy to follow, while still staying true to the language of the times.

I found it so fascinating the way these two women's lives often paralleled one another, and how much they had in common despite never really knowing one another. I appreciated the author's creative liberties (listen to the author's note at the end), and that ending was *chef's kiss*! 🤌🏼

Her Lost Words is a captivating tribute to two inspiring, courageous women whose work paved the path for the women who came after, and I recommend it with my whole heart. ❤️

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[Syrie James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant and unforgettable portrait of two remarkable women. I knew very little about Mary Wollestoncraft, other than her fame for writing "Vindications of the Rights of Woman," and I was fascinated to learn her life story, as if told from her own pen in the most personal of memoirs. I thought I knew Mary Shelley's story -- because I've read several biographies and seen movies about her, but this novel brought her young self to life in a way that felt 100% real and settled deep in my soul. I loved the author's portrayal of Percy Shelley, William Godwin, and both Marys -- their deep intelligence, fiery passions for the men they loved, devotion and love for their children, desire for change where women's status is concerned, and staunch determination to flout society, follow their hearts, and be free and undefined by a legal connection to a man (although that didn't work out well for either of them). They both suffered so many highs and lows -- literary triumphs, incredible loving relationships with accomplished and passionate men, and yet so much death and loss -- it hurts to contemplate. But, life is not fair. We can't predict the hand we'll be dealt. Despite all the tragedies, these women accomplished a great deal and made their stamp on history. It's a lesson for us all to persevere, follow our dreams, and enjoy the good times while they last, for we never know what's around the corner. Bravo!

[Eliza Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eloquently written, Stephanie Thornton captivates in her latest novel, Her Lost Words by bringing to life the words and ideals of two prolific and brilliant female writers who forged paths for the women of today. A novel that explores the relationship between mothers and daughters and the human condition, Thornton grips our hearts with prose on love and loss, grief and survival, and the power of art and expression to heal our very souls. An extremely moving and enlightening novel that is an absolute must read!

[Emily Ann Page · Rating 2 out of 5]

What could have been an insightful examination of two complicated figures in the history of political thought instead applies a shallow modern gloss to Wollstonecraft's ideology and focuses heavily on the characters' romantic relationships with men. As someone fairly knowledgeable in the realm of political philosophy, it's likely that I wanted this book to be something that would have made it less generally popular with readers. However, I think there was still room to engage with the difficult parts of Wollstonecraft's thought and the ways it was both informed and challenged by her life and later her daughter's.

I think it's perfectly acceptable to reflect on historical thought with a modern lens, but I think this work misplaces where that would best be done. Thornton writes Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley almost as though they were modern women who happened to be living in another time. Wollstonecraft was not a feminist; there is actually a scholarly debate about whether to even consider her work proto-feminist given her vastly different views on equality compared to those taken up by feminists in the 1890s. I would rather the author have let the characters keep the less palatable aspects of their thought and employed the modern lens only by challenging those thoughts through the narrative and the characters' circumstances.

One of the main issues with this novel's take on Wollstonecraft is that it does not depict any of her takes on class or wealth, or if it did, it was so fleeting as not to have impacted the story at all. Wollstonecraft's ideology was bourgeois, and though anti-aristocracy, she was no strong advocate for the poor or working class, even advocating that the rich and poor be educated separately upon reaching nine or so years old. She idolized the middle class as the most natural state, and argued in favor of a middle class ethos of honesty, modesty, and frugality.

I would have liked to see this explored more, especially in the context of the French Revolution which Wollstonecraft witnesses in the novel. Wollstonecraft associated with the Girondins, the more moderate branch of thought that broke away from the Jacobins. There could have been some interesting tension between her more moderate republican sentiments and those that were expressed by the Enragés - a more radical working class faction. The Enragés even sent female representatives to the National Convention who were turned away on account of their gender - something that could have caught the character's interest and had her consider some of her class-related thoughts. Lord Byron could have been a way to explore this with the other protagonist - he acts the part of the radical and gets away with it due to his nobility, but in practice he cannot tolerate lowborn Claire raising his child. Class politics never enter into these events in the book.

At the same time, Thornton imposes a rather more modern, material understanding of equality onto Wollstonecraft than was true to her thought. Wollstonecraft considered men and women to be moral equals, and advocated for education such that women could act as moral beings in the same ways as men. She did not, however, think they should have completely equal roles, instead arguing that education and understanding would help women to be better wives and mothers. In the book, however, the characters seem to want complete financial independence. The real Wollstonecraft, however, called upon men to help women improve rather than asking women to do so independently. Wollstonecraft recognized the double standard applied to the sexual transgressions of men and women, but her solution was for everyone to be more chaste and spurn sexual desire - though her views on this changed after meeting Imlay. This change could have been an interesting development of her character, but was not really reflected in the novel.

This work either seems not to challenge its own un-feminist portrayals of its female characters, and when it does, it challenges them in a conservative rather than progressive direction. For example, although Wollstonecraft argued that a lack of education made women into silly, frivolous beings, Tomaselli's 2021 biography holds that her own simple aesthetic tastes were not a reflection of prudishness or asceticism. Thornton instead characterizes Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley as "not like other girls" in their disdain for pretty ornaments and elegance. Claire Clairmont, for example, is portrayed as consistently frivolous and even as a burden throughout the novel. Mary Shelley running away with Percy is portrayed as justified simply because Harriet is a little snobby and doesn't like reading, and her suicide is addressed with only some passing guilt.

While it's possible these perspectives could have been consistent with the historical figures given Wollstonecraft's disapproval of being ruled by sensibility and sympathy over reason, this is not addressed. It also seems as though the author wanted to challenge them given Jane's redemption at the very end, but I would have preferred for this to enter more into the characters' development. This depiction of the characters' interactions with other women does not seem informed by the source material, but neither is it consistent with the author's attempted feminist interpretation. We are expected to forgive Jane's mistreatment of Mary Shelley, but not Claire's misjudgments or her pining for Percy.

Something similar happens with the protagonists' love lives. In reality, Wollstonecraft began to disdain commerce and advocate for time spent in nature given her negative experiences with Imlay, but the novel itself does not demonstrate this affair's impact on her political thoughts. Mary Shelley's relationship with Percy is also sanitized in order to make him an absolute perfect husband, which he seems not to have been in reality. Thornton mentions in the author's note that she did not depict Percy in a relationship with Claire given Mary's vehement denial of this in the source material. However, there could have been an interesting conflict between the couple given Percy's strong belief in non-monogamy; Claire Clairmont actually later wrote that *both* Percy and Byron were cruel people. This could have been a way for the narrative to issue a modern challenge to Wollstonecraft's belief in free love as Mary Shelley discovers that even outside the institution of marriage and among educated women, men have more power and freedom within social mores. Instead, it seems that the author was more interested in depicting a tragic fairy-tale love story than engaging with philosophy while writing about philosophers.

These issues with the protagonists' interactions with other characters highlight an issue that extends throughout the novel; that there was never enough connection between the characters' experiences and ideas. The work delivers Wollstonecraft to us having already tried and failed as a governess and with a finished manuscript in hand ready to publish. I would have loved to see her push against social constraints, have lots of feelings about it, and transform those feelings into an ideology. Wollstonecraft was depressed throughout her entire life, and I would have liked to see that come up as a through-line that was connected to her experiences of disadvantage as a woman. While her letters indicate that her depression did flare up in response to Imlay's cruelty, Thornton limits it completely to that time of her life. It is striking that a work that attempts to be a feminist portrayal of these figures ended up tying part of Wollstonecraft's own character solely to her experiences with a man.

I do give this book credit for being an enjoyable read and prompting me to look into some interesting historical tidbits, but it lacked a coherent thesis and link between events and ideas. This novel was mostly concerned with depicting the external dramas and conflicts of these historical female writers while giving them a shallow veneer of the political (even saying the French Revolution should have had "less revolution and more freedom" - as if people hadn't already thought of that before resorting to more desperate measures). It lacked some of the most interesting parts of Wollstonecraft's ideology that could have provided ample opportunity for a fascinating friction between the characters' thoughts and experiences. This work could have demonstrated through its narrative that its characters' perspectives were flawed, but it instead sanitized and idolized the complicated people Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley were.

[Infosifter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Dianne Alvine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was definitely enamored with this well told story of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter, Mary Shelley .I have always had an interest in the era they were born into- 18th century England.

Mary W. was a genius and a political philosopher, who expressed radical thoughts of feminism in her book 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.' She was a feminist living in a time when women's role was to have children, and take care of a household.

Her life was not easy or comfortable. She struggled from the time she was born into a very poor family, where her father was an abusive alcoholic and thus a dysfunctional family setting. She faced several scandals in her life, all dealing with the men she was involved with, and the child she had with each one.

When she had an affair with William Godwin, they both cared for each other and were in love, and even though they didn't believe in marriage, they eventually married as they did not want their beloved daughter to be born into the world as a bastard child. She died after giving birth to her daughter, Mary.

Mary Shelley is the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft. She, too, was a genius, best known for her science fiction book, 'Frankenstein.' When she was 16, she met Percy Bysshe Shelley, and even though Percy was married, they ran away and stayed together until his death from a tragic accident. Three of their children died in infancy. Only one, Percy Florence Shelley, survived into adulthood. Sadly their lives were filled with scandal, pain and suffering.

I learned so much about these two outstanding women. I could feel their heartache and loneliness, their struggles and humanity. That's what pulled me into the story and kept me there until the last word. Although it has been many centuries since they walked this earth, through Stephanie Marie Thornton's stellar novel, I felt that I was able to walk beside them in spirit.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I knew very little about Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley, this historical novel was so enlightening and beautifully written. Mary Wollstonecraft is widely regarded as one of the first feminists, especially after publishing “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” at a time when a single woman was frowned upon for daring to walk in public without a male escort. She was a prolific writer of political philosophy. Her daughter, Mary Shelley, is best know for her novel “Frankenstein”, written when she was just 19. She was also a prolific writer and acknowledged as the “mother of science fiction”. This is also an exploration of the place of women in society at that time and a homage to enduring love.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley/Penguin Random House for the ARC to read and review.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

1815 England; Mary Shelley desperately eager to connect somehow with her late mother, author Mary Wollstonecraft. Dying soon after giving birth to Mary, she longs to follow in her mother's footsteps; through writing. Told from duel points of view, this is a story of love, heartache, feminism, and family. Read-alike: HAMNET by Maggie O'Farrell.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her Lost Words by Stephanie Marie Thornton twines Mary Wollstonecraft’s life with her daughter’s, Mary Shelley. Truly. The book alternates chapters between the two of them, and there are parallels at every turn, with love affairs, travel, marriage, child birth, and deaths.

Here’s where I have a problem, though. Two problems. The first problem is the language. This historical fiction has dialogue which is not exactly in keeping with the times. That’s…fine. Only one part REALLY jarred me (when (Mary) Shelley remarked that something was “unhinged”). I understand that it’s hard to replicate dialogue and even if an author managed, people would bitch about it being purple prose and sooooo difficult to read. I’ve seen it.

The second problem, a little more troublesome to handle, is the liberties done with the characters. I once again understand condensing characters and changing times around; it would get to be boring and unwieldy to put EVERYONE into the narrative. MY issue is the hatchet job done with Lord Byron. Byron is an evil monster and Mary (Shelley) despises him and is disgusted by him and feels for her poor, poor stepsister who was callously used and her child was ripped away from her. The problem being, of course, that 1) her stepsister relentlessly pursued Byron and he complained a great deal about her 2) she fobbed the kid off on him, thinking he could care for her better and was only ruffled he agreed on condition she leave him alone 3) Mary and Byron were actually friends and Mary was devastated when he died and 4) the way Mary in actuality wrote about Claire and the characters she crafted to represent Claire show a hostility and anger toward her stepsister that’s not really explored in the book except for wanting more privacy and to just be a lovebird with Percy.

The friendship with Byron is pointedly missing; she sought him as a comfort when Percy died and she created characters based on him in numerous stories. Here he’s just a licentious libertine that she can hate and snarl at. “He could hardly be called a friend”, an in-text comment on his death, very briefly touched upon, VS her diary entry when she learned of his death: “This then was the coming event that cast its shadow on my last night's miserable thoughts. Byron had become one of the people of the grave -- that miserable conclave to which the beings I best loved belong. I knew him in the bright days of youth, when neither care nor fear had visited me -- before death had made me feel my mortality, and the earth was the scene of my hopes. Can I forget our evening visits to Diodati? our excursions on the lake, when he sang the Tyrolese Hymn, and his voice was harmonized with winds and waves. Can I forget his attentions and consolations to me during my deepest misery? Never.”

Anyway. This book left me pondering. Where do I go? 3.5 stars, but up or down? The treatment of certain characters like Lord Byron (and others—depicting Thomas Holcroft as so horny he pops a boner staring at Mary Wollstonecraft’s cleavage at a soirée and tries to get her to have sex with him, marking Henry Fuseli as a little creep who starts rumours about her pursuing him which did allegedly in fact happen in reality!) leaves me bemused. But! Then I DID feel a stirring of emotion when Percy and Mary (Wollstonecraft) died, and the passages that showed the grief of their widow/widower brought tears to my eye. So…I suppose I’ll go up rather than down.

[Wendy W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
Her Lost Words by Stephanie Marie Thornton is a dual timeline historical fiction based on the real lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley. Both were passionate women of their time and Mary Shelley eventually wrote the groundbreaking novel, Frankenstein.

Story Recap:
Mary Wollstonecraft was a revolutionary woman and did not live a conventional life, especially during the end of the 17th century, when women were not allowed many rights at all. She wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” which made Mary one of the first feminists of the modern era. She supported herself with her revolutionary writing until she had an affair that changed her mind about love, romance, and marriage and gave her a daughter.

Marry Shelley, the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, misses her mother’s guidance as she grows up. She learns to read and write by tracing the letters on her mother’s tombstone. She marries the famous poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley and struggles with marriage and motherhood. She learns more about her unconventional mother and turns to write stories and becomes the author of Frankenstein.

My Thoughts:
I didn’t know much at all about Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley before reading this book, and I’m so glad to know about them now. They are both passionate women who didn’t bow down to societal expectations.

The book is beautifully written and it pulled me right in. I loved both stories equally and loved both Marys. I love a story about women who fight the system and each of these women did that and succeeded in their own way.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend Her Lost Words to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Ashley Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written, as I'm used to from Stephanie Thornton's work, but the various inaccuracies I noticed took me out, which was disappointing. I seem to prefer my historical fiction one of two ways: either with a lot of blank space and thus ample area to (plausibly) fictionalize to your heart's content, or sticking as close to the facts as one can with one or two major differences for plot purposes. This book seems to fall into a deeper grey area than I usually like.

I think Abigail's review covers a lot of the issues that came up for many of us in the Historical Fictionistas group. I also think a content warning at the beginning would have been beneficial, as I wasn't expecting to barely step foot into the story before domestic violence was flung at me.

Overall a deeply sad, painful story on both ends.

Nicely narrated by Grace Gray and Hannah Curtis.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite authors explores the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter, Mary Godwin Shelley. Stephanie Thornton does an eloquent job of ensuring that each woman's voice lives on the page. As I read, I rekindled my love for both these writers, who are now much more appreciated than they were during their lifetimes.

Mary Wollstonecraft's story starts in 1775, and Mary Shelley's begins in 1814. The novel continuously bounces back and forth as we see the plot through both sets of eyes. Both women desire to live independently and make their own income, something which society frowns upon for both. Modern-day readers will certainly find two kindred spirits in these pages.

I have yet to read a Stephanie Marie Thornton book that I didn't fall head over heels in love with.



Goodreads review published 14/12/25

[Sydney Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two incredible worlds: that of the iconic authoress of Frankenstein and her deep-thinking, pen-wielding, inspiring mother; two unforgettable Marys. I’m a die-hard Stephanie Marie Thornton fan, as well as a receptacle and megaphone for women’s buried stories, give them all to me, but especially this!! I kept thinking: I’m this many years old and am just learning this! I want to shove the book in all the hands. I want to shout out to women and tell them to think and be brave and live! (And read about women such as these Marys). I also love consuming worlds populated by the thinkers and writers of their ages.

This book is all that and more. Audio is sublime. Don’t let it get away. #herlostwords ❤️‍🔥✍🏻 🧟‍♂️👱‍♀️⚖️✨

[Quinn Blackley · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Torn because the actual prose was so good that I tore through it in a couple days but then I was so disappointed when I got to the back and Thornton listed all the biographical omissions she made. Consolidating the deaths of multiple children into one child for the sake of simplifying Mary Shelley’s storyline is such an injustice when it comes to understanding her life and her most famous book.

I did not enjoy my first read of Frankenstein, but knowing the abandonment and loss Mary experienced completely changed my feelings toward her monster’s rampage at the end of Frankenstein. I know lots of people love Frankenstein without knowing the context of Mary’s young adult life, but I finally appreciate the story more having learned about that parts of her that inspired it.

Circling back to all the changes, particularly to Mary Shelley—I felt a little duped. Like, as if I’d just read alternative universe fanfiction about Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley. I’m pretty sure even the title of this book hinges on a lost personal memoir written by Mary Wollstonecraft that Thornton invented for the story.

Again, all credit to the author for some awesome writing. She didn’t disappoint with And They Called it Camelot on this front, either. But my wish is that she would have prolonged her writing process to figure out how to incorporate all the historical truths.

[Lyndsey Thackston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this but found myself getting bored often. I really enjoyed learning more about these women’s lives and it raised some thought provoking questions but I had to push myself to finish.

[Athena of Velaris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was two books that barely connected smushed into one. I liked them each separately, but found that the two plots would’ve stood better on their own.

[Lauralee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley are famous literary writers. Mary Wollstonecraft would write the feminist work, The Vindication for the Rights of Woman. Her daughter, Mary Shelley would follow in her mother’s footsteps to pen Frankenstein. This novel follows the mother-daughter pair. Both of these women would lead scandalous lives. Despite their scandals, they both showed the world their literary genius.

I was very familiar with Mary Shelley, and I knew a little bit about Mary Wollstonecraft. Therefore, I could not wait to read this novel about them! I loved how both Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley were not conventional women. Instead, they defied the social conventions of their time. I liked how both of these women were true to themselves. They did not let societal rules stop them from pursuing their intellectual pursuits. I also like how these women loved fiercely and passionately. Therefore, I loved both of them, and I sympathized with them as they went through many hardships.

Overall, this novel is about love, family, and feminism. I liked how each of the characters were portrayed. I thought each of them were rounded, complex, and very realistic. I also like how the story was told from first to third person perspectives and that switched chapter to chapter from Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley. I loved the gorgeous prose in the novel! The writing was very lyrical and intricate! Each sentence made the worlds of both Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley come alive! However, I did not like the blatant inaccuracies in the novel. I found them to be very glaring and distracting! I wish it would have been more accurate because the inaccuracies took away a little bit of my enjoyment in this novel. This is why I could not give this Her Lost Words a five star rating. Nevertheless, it was a very entertaining and engrossing read! You will be spellbound as you follow the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley! Her Lost Words is a tribute to both the geniuses they have penned! I recommend this for fans of The Determined Heart, Love and Fury, and Vindication!
(Note: I read an ARC copy of this book in courtesy of Netgalley.)

[Nidhi Shrivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you @berkleypub, @letstalkbookspromo, and @stephaniemariethornton for the gifted copy of the novel!

⁉️: Have you read the works of Mary Wollstonecraft or Mary Shelley? What did you think of them?

What It’s About?

From A Vindication of the Rights of Woman to Frankenstein, a tale of two literary legends—a mother and daughter—discovering each other and finding themselves along the way.

Thoughts 💭:

When I was working on my doctorate exams, I had chosen to write for the women’s, gender, and sexuality studies track, and I chose to work on the list 1700s and after. Amongst the exams, I studied Mary Wollstonecraft’s seminal essay along with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I was so excited when I saw that there was a historical fiction genre novel that explores their story and gives readers a chance to engage with them and their texts,

Told in dual timelines, the novel begins in 1792 when we learn about Wollstonecraft’s childhood and decision to write A Vindication on The Rights of Woman, I was drawn to her story. The moments that stood out to me was the great sheer of resistance she received as she was trying to publish her essay. The novel, then, shifts focus to 1818, when we follow Mary Shelly, the author of Frankenstein, who desperately longs for her mother and eventually elopes with Percy Bysshe Shelly.

Frankenstein is also one of my favorite novels of all times! :)

A riveting and inspiring novel about a firebrand feminist, her visionary daughter, and the many ways their words transformed our world!

[Demi (book_oasis) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars but rounding up! This was an incredible look into Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley’s life and their written work. I learned so much about this mother/daughter pair that I didn’t know before. If you are a fan of narrative nonfiction, this might be for you!

[AnnaRichelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal book!! Amazing account of historical female trailblazers! This is one of those books that lets you know, as a woman, how far we've come and how we must continue to push forward. We have it so much better now than then but no room for backsliding. What a great read!

[Olesya Gilmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and impressive in scope about two complicated women, trailblazers, and mother daughter author pair Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley.

[Melissa B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this through GdReads First Reads.
A fascinating reveal of the unorthodox lives of Mary Shelly (the author of Frankenstein) and that of her mother.

[Therese Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite type of historical fiction, taking an author and inserting a contemporary author’s hypothetical words in their mouth. But this was impressively researched and undoubtedly assisted by an extensive record of letter writing so much a part of the times for literate people. Bringing Mary Wollenscraft and Mary Shelley more into into the limelight for their works is to be applauded.

[Yesha- Books Teacup and Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

review - https://booksteacupreviews.com/2023/0...

Her Lost Words is moving and beautifully written historical fiction on the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley. Their love of literature, zeal for language, radical feminist beliefs, and challenges they faced in their lives during the 18th and 19th centuries are genuinely inspiring.

I don’t have enough words for Her Lost Words. I knew nothing about Mary Wollstonecraft and her books before I read this, nor I knew she was the mother of Mary Shelley, Frankenstein’s author that also I haven’t read yet and I also don’t know anything about Mary Shelly’s life. So Her Lost Words has been informative and educational for me.

The pace is slow but the writing is so beautiful that I devoured every word or every page. The story is written in dual timeline with alternative perspectives of Mary Wollstonecraft (from 1775 to 1979) and Mary Shelley (from 1814 to 1831). It was hard to remember what happened in which year (unless you have taken notes) but I was never confused with their perspectives and life stories.

Her Lost Words covers theme and layers of gender inequality, women’s position in male dominant world and industry, impact of war and revolution on the country and people, injustice and biased legal system towards women, childbirth issues and diseases around this era.

It was amazing to read the parallel life story of mother and daughter that showed they have so many things in common and how deep the connection was even though they never got to know each other and how their words and love tethered them to each other and the world that never has been kind to them.

It’s unfathomable to think how they might have lived with their modern and independent thoughts in the era in which women had no rights to education, no rights to think, even less to voice them, and were expected to live by social norms under male dominance… If they deviated from it they were shunned, spit on in streets, called crazy witches, or were locked in the asylum!

It was admirable how Mary Wollstonecraft escaped her abusive father, found a job as a governess, and then paved her path to famous author in London with only clothes on her body, no money, and only one priced possession- her manuscript ‘Thoughts on the Education of Daughters’ that was rejected by more than a dozen publishers until she found Joseph Johnson who later published all her books and also been supportive with her trip to France only to return back to London with heartbreak and betrayal. I loved how she recovered from betrayal and found her way back to independence, hope, and also love. Her fierce, determined, and unshakable spirit is what made her inspiring and admirable.

While Mary Wallstonecraft’s life was touching and heartfelt, Mary Shalley’s (Mary Godwin before marriage) was even more tragic. When she met Percy Shelley in her father’s bookshop, it was clear he was a trouble and I wasn’t ready to trust him even though it was clear from her name and title, they later got married. Percy was married at that time with a kid and still, he flirted with Mary Godwin and it looked like both her sisters were under his spell.

Their elopement at first sounded big mistake but I get how Mary Godwin felt, desperate to find a connection with her mother and believing in her words about free love and disbelief in social customs, especially marriage, wanting to retrace her footstep to know her better and so running away with Percy looked more right to her and I was relieved to see she wasn’t wrong in believing in heart.

What I loved most in her story is how testing Mary Godwin and Percy Shelley’s relationship was. Life was constant difficulties for Mary Godwin and Percy Shelley until they were forced to marry and even after that life wasn’t easy for them.

What I didn’t expect was soul-shattering series of tragedies in the second half. It made me ugly cry till the end of the book. I was shocked there was no one there for them not even their own families. It feels impossible to live through all these tragedies yet Mary Shelley did and not just lived but made name for herself which was even more inspiring and motivating than her mother’s life story.

From what I read in a Google search there are other things that were fictionalized that aren’t mentioned in notes, like Fanny’s life – she wasn’t as disfigured and depressed as shown in books and her suicide has been a mystery- and about Mary Shelley’s stepmother, Jane Clairemont- She wasn’t a nice person. I cannot validate the sources but whether fictional or real I loved the twist author gave to Jane’s character in the end and how she helped Mary to connect with her mother and also inspired her to write more.

It was interesting to read in the author’s notes about which parts were changed or fictionalized and which were kept close to facts. I agree with what author said in the notes, “this is a love letter to two brilliant women who lit the way for not just women writers, but all women.”

What I loved most is snippets from the work of authors in this book – Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron. It was also interesting to read mentions of some well-known and some forgotten historical figures of the era.

Overall, Her Lost Words is emotive, poignant, touching, inspiring, and beautifully written historical fiction on the life of Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the world’s founding feminist philosophers, and her daughter Mary Shelley, mother of modern sci-fi literature.

[Keila (speedreadstagram) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there a point in time you would like to visit?

I honestly don’t think I would. I’ve read so much history and historical fiction that I am find leaving the past in the past. HA

This book is a tale of two literary legends – Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter, Mary Shelley. Mary Wollstonecraft escaped her father’s abusive household and set off on a life of her own while becoming a political philosopher. She didn’t bow to society’s expectations and supported herself. Unfortunately, she dies during childbirth. Her daughter, years later, Mary desperately misses the mother she never had. She ends up falling and making a life with a married Poet. As Mary struggles with motherhood she starts writing a groundbreaking novel, Frankenstein.

There was something about this writing that drew me in and held my attention. However, it was very confusing to have both characters names Mary. While I understand that in real life they were both named Mary, the author points out in the back of the novel that she has taken liberties with some of the names to make it less confusing! I did find the story interesting and well thought out. The writing was beautiful and well done.

It’s always wonderful reading about strong women throughout history – without them we would not have the liberties we do today. So for that I am thankful I read this book. This was a solid read, and I would recommend it.

This one is out March 28th!

Thank you to the publisher Berkley Publishing, @berkleypub and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this book has an absolutely beautiful cover. It is stunning and a perfect fit for the compelling story within.
Prior to this book, I didn't know much about these women, but I was intrigued from the start and couldn't wait to see it all come together and fall into place. The story truly held me captive, as all of Thornton's books tend to do. I love how she can weave such an engaging and wonderful story word by word, detail by detail. The intensity of the emotion in this one was incredible. I went from fear to anger and everything in between as I followed both Mary Wollstonecraft's and Mary Godwin's adventures. These women were so passionate in their own ways, and I was enamored with them and their need for freedom and equality. The depth of their living and loving rocked me to my core several times throughout the story. It was hard to put this one down, and even when I did, it lingered in my mind until I had time to pick it up and continue the tale. I was all in on this one and in awe of Thornton once again for the story that she was able to weave together with words. Her talent knows no bounds; I'm certain of it.