I enjoyed reading this quite a bit more than I thought I would. I've never really enjoyed Frankenstein, which has made me never care much for more from Mary Shelley. However, my interest in her companions was slightly raised when I visited Byron's Newstead Abbey in 2016 and learned about Percy, Claire Clairmont, Allegra, and others. I was offered this book by a fellow reader friend and decided to set aside my prejudices and give her another try.

I read the first few pages, up to 13 where there are spoilers to the story of Maurice. Then I skipped ahead to the "Author's Original" version of the story on page 119 (this volume contains the story in two forms) then I went back and finished Tomalin's commentary from pages 13-65, finishing with the poem about Percy on pgs. 155-159.

I enjoyed the short biography of Shelley and friends just as much or more than the story of Maurice but was a bit intrigued by that short story as it was very reminiscent of one I'd read recently. Elizabeth Goudge's Gentian Hill also takes place on Torquay and the "big mystery" is eerily similar. In fact, if it wasn't established in this book that Shelley's short story was only discovered in 1997, I'd be sure that Goudge used it as inspiration for her novel. One of life's great mysteries, I guess...