Friday 29 May 2009
Monday 18 May 2009
Bournemouth 200 logo
Following a meeting with Bournemouth 200 project manager, Jenny Warwick, the Mary Shelley Festival project was approved and we are able to use the Bournemouth 200 logo on our promotional literature.
Thursday 14 May 2009
Echo archive
Mary Shelley 'did not write Frankenstein'
From the archive, first published Monday 2nd Apr 2007.
AN AMERICAN academic has stirred up controversy by claiming that Mary Shelley, who is buried in Bournemouth, was not the true author of the Gothic masterpiece Frankenstein. After seven years of research, Harvard-educated John Lauritson has concluded that the book was actually written by Mary's husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who drowned off the coast of Italy in 1822. His theory has emerged as Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood announced he was seeking National Lottery funding for a bronze statue of Frankenstein's monster in Boscombe, to commemorate Mary Shelley and her family's local links. Mr Lauritson's book, The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein, is due to be published in May. He describes Mary as a "poor" writer who had little imagination and was "extremely conventional". Critics may dispute his judgement on the intellectual feminist icon, who scandalised society by eloping to the Continent with the already-married Shelley when she was only 16. But Lauritson, who has closely examined works by both writers, remains convinced that Mary would have been incapable of producing the "great, rich and complex" Frankenstein. "I believe it was a hoax - and Shelley was the one who started the hoax," he said.
Frankenstein was originally published in 1818 and it was immediately assumed that Shelley, already known as a poet, was the author. After his death, it was republished under Mary's name. Bournemouth author Christine Aziz, who wrote a play about Mary Shelley and her monster, said: "Even then, people didn't believe that a woman could write such a good book. "She wrote the story behind her writing of it: Shelley went through the manuscript and did make some changes. She acknowledges that, but certainly she wrote it. "I think it's quite sad that there are still people around saying she didn't. She went on to write more books, which weren't as popular, but they showed her to be an intellectual of great depth. I think she was a remarkable woman. "There are a lot of first novels that are absolutely brilliant. Some people are at their best when they are in the flower of youth, some when they get older. There are no hard and fast rules."
From the archivehttp://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk© Newsquest Media Group 2007
From the archive, first published Monday 2nd Apr 2007.
AN AMERICAN academic has stirred up controversy by claiming that Mary Shelley, who is buried in Bournemouth, was not the true author of the Gothic masterpiece Frankenstein. After seven years of research, Harvard-educated John Lauritson has concluded that the book was actually written by Mary's husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who drowned off the coast of Italy in 1822. His theory has emerged as Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood announced he was seeking National Lottery funding for a bronze statue of Frankenstein's monster in Boscombe, to commemorate Mary Shelley and her family's local links. Mr Lauritson's book, The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein, is due to be published in May. He describes Mary as a "poor" writer who had little imagination and was "extremely conventional". Critics may dispute his judgement on the intellectual feminist icon, who scandalised society by eloping to the Continent with the already-married Shelley when she was only 16. But Lauritson, who has closely examined works by both writers, remains convinced that Mary would have been incapable of producing the "great, rich and complex" Frankenstein. "I believe it was a hoax - and Shelley was the one who started the hoax," he said.
Frankenstein was originally published in 1818 and it was immediately assumed that Shelley, already known as a poet, was the author. After his death, it was republished under Mary's name. Bournemouth author Christine Aziz, who wrote a play about Mary Shelley and her monster, said: "Even then, people didn't believe that a woman could write such a good book. "She wrote the story behind her writing of it: Shelley went through the manuscript and did make some changes. She acknowledges that, but certainly she wrote it. "I think it's quite sad that there are still people around saying she didn't. She went on to write more books, which weren't as popular, but they showed her to be an intellectual of great depth. I think she was a remarkable woman. "There are a lot of first novels that are absolutely brilliant. Some people are at their best when they are in the flower of youth, some when they get older. There are no hard and fast rules."
From the archivehttp://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk© Newsquest Media Group 2007
Tuesday 5 May 2009
Stage:site visit 29 April 2009
Site visit to view the progress of the Shelley Manor Theatre,arranged by Councillors Chris Wakefield and Anne Filer. Photo by C.Shervin
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