Two of European and American history’s most influential documents were created by a mother and daughter who never knew each other.

This startling fact is at the heart of ROMANTIC OUTLAWS, a sprawling, gripping family saga from noted author Charlotte Gordon. Gordon takes us inside the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley, who changed the way the world looks at essay and fiction. The former, of course, is Shelley’s mother and the author of A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN. First published in 1792, this shattering and highly controversial document was the foundation of movements toward women’s rights. Shelley followed with the masterpiece that needs no introduction, FRANKENSTEIN.

"Gordon satisfies a long-held need from readers of the philosophical and horror genres to 'be there' when these women lived and their artistic talents were at their peak... an exciting masterwork worthy of contemporary headlines as the lives of these scribes were far from normal."

In this dual biography, Gordon satisfies a long-held need from readers of the philosophical and horror genres to “be there” when these women lived and their artistic talents were at their peak --- romanticism for romantics. And we say “Wow” with each new revelation. Wollstonecraft and Shelley were married into brilliance and fame as well. They were the wives of philosopher William Goodwin and poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, yet their reputations were certainly their own, especially after their deaths. Wollstonecraft changed history, and the monster book of her daughter still sells better than the Christian Bible.

Little Mary, who passed away at 53, never knew her mom, who died in childbirth due to complications, yet she longed to know and be with her as reflected in her life and writings. To literary and women’s rights history, Shelley was essential as the promoter and editor of the great Percy’s work and “non-Victorian ideas.” Gordon notes, “…over the last 30 years, many distinguished literary scholars have devoted their careers to analyzing Mary Shelley’s work, shedding light on her innovations, brilliance, and stratagems.”

However, ROMANTIC OUTLAWS is not all staid criticism --- it’s an exciting masterwork worthy of contemporary headlines as the lives of these scribes were far from normal. Gossip and innuendo aside, the family moved in some outrageous circles (Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge) that is a who’s-who of the period. Today’s tabloid journalism is so boring because the subjects, like the Kardashians, are so unintelligent. Gordon probes the extant original documentation, letters and ephemera that bring the Marys and their kin alive once again. The two ladies share alternate chapters, as in a novel, and they broke all the rules to pave the way for the women of substance we know today: Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Martha Stewart and Joyce Carol Oates. And they did it over 200 years ago!