This is the best book I've ever read about a southern family. It is amazingly real and poignant. Anyone who enjoyed Cold Mountain would love this.

The Captain's Wife is about a woman who travels to sea with her husband. As a way of staying busy she learns to use the sextant. That turns out to be fortuitous because on a voyage from New York to San Francisco--the voyage upon which the story centers around--her husband falls ill and is confined to his cabin in a comatose state. The first mate is unavailable (I won't spoil it) and the second mate doesn't know how to navigate. It's up to her to get the ship around the horn and on to San Fran. It's a good story and a quick read.

The book isn't as technical as other historical novels or non-fiction maritime narratives, but you still get a good feel for how clippers were sailed. I enjoyed the new perspective as most narratives are from that of the sailor or capitain but rarely of the captain's wife.

This book gives the reader a real feel for life aboard a clipper ship during the 1850's. It also shows the devotion the captain's young, newly pregnant wife, Mary Patten, holds for her husband, Joshua, after he falls ill and the ship is threatened by a mutinous crew. With the help of Timothy Hare, a young, illiterate sailor, she rallies the crew to complete their treacherous journey from New York to San Francisco round Cape Horn.

Douglas Kelley obviously enjoyed the years of research he spent in order to tell this story of a wife's devotion. His language is lively and lovely, two qualities necessary for a love story at sea.

I won't soon forget The Captain's Wife, or the amazing, larger-than-life, pregnant heroine, Mary Patten. I can only imagine the intensive research required to write such a memorable novel--yet none of it interferes with the drama, fear, and danger this determined young woman experiences as, threatened by mutiny, and against all odds, she finds herself steering an enormous clipper ship through the most treacherous seas known to man. I found it very difficult to put this book down. Every page was an adventure. I eagerly await this author's next endeavour.

"Frankenstein" is a typical novel from the romantic period. The story is based on the conflict of a scientist with the results of his work. But Frankenstein is far more than that: It is the story of two individuals (Frankenstein and his "monster") and their acceptance and behavior in society, and of course, the novel contains a lot of latent psychological information (what would Freud have said about that?). However, it is typical for the age of romanticism that the feelings and thoughts of the individuum are at the center of the plot (see e.g. the works by Byron or by the German authors Eichendorff and Novalis). This holds as well for the music composed during that time (Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, ...). Mary Shelley describes in great detail the innermost feelings of Frankenstein and his "wretch" and how they changed from one minute to the other, and what made them change their moods, and why and how, and who was around etc. This actually - because presented through the entire book - makes the reading of the highly interesting story rather tedious. Story: 5 stars, Fun: 1 star

If you are expecting the novel Frankenstein to be like horror scenes depicted in the movies, you better think again. Instead, Mary Shelly allows the reader to create more images in his or her own mind. Today, we are so brainwashed to violence and gory images on television, that we sometimes forget what "real" horror used to be like. When you read Frankenstein don't forget that Mary Shelly wrote the book in the 1880's in a time of social unrest. The writing style is different, and the pace of the novel is not as up to date as modern books. Her descriptive words allow the reader to create the monster in his or her own mind, without actually seeing it. When Shelly writes, her words give such detailed images of what is going to happen next. For example, when something "bad" is going to happen, Shelly generates a spooky and mysterious setting.
One of the major themes throughout the book is science technology. When Victor creates the monster, he is challenging science, and therefore challenging God. When the creature awakes, Victor realizes that he has just done a "horrible" thing. He is disgusted with the thing he created, which led him to feel extreme guilt and compete rejection of the monster. Is it science that led him to self destruction? Shelly wonders how far will technological advances go before a man becomes too dependent on technology? Science destroys his life because the monster dominates him, and Victor winds up being a slave to his own creation.
What was also interesting about the novel was how Shelly made the reader feel sympathetic for the monster. After all aren't we supposed to hate this thing? She portrayed the creature as a "normal human", showing love and affection. The creature's ugliness deterred anyone from coming close to him, and made him feel like an outsider. This rejection from society made the monster sad and helpless. His only revenge was to engage in destruction. This is when the "real" monster is created. After reading parts of the novel I felt bad for the monster, in a way I never thought I would.
Although slow paced, Mary Shelly's style of writing will allow you to take on different dimensions and force you to develop your own profound ideas about the topics discussed in the novel. I think Frankenstein is a great Romantic classic for anyone who has a imagination.

The Frankenstein monster is truly one of the most tragic characters in classic literature. He is obviously quite brilliant, having learned to speak (rather eloquently, I might add), and to read simply by secretly watching others. He's sensitive, kind, and appreciative of nature's beauty-all of the most admirable characteristics of a wonderful soul. And yet, he is vilified by all who come in contact with him because of his physical repulsiveness.

His longing for love, especially from Victor, was so painful that it became difficult for me to read. I kept hoping he'd find someone to show him the littlest bit of kindness. His turn to violence is entirely understandable, and Victor's irresponsibility toward his creation is despicable. Victor, who is outwardly handsome but cowardly and cruel, is the story's true monster.

In addition to writing a captivating story, Shelley raises many social issues that are still relevant today, nearly 200 years later, and the book provides a superb argument against *ever* cloning a human being.

(Note: I have the edition with the marvelous woodcut illustrations by Barry Moser and the Joyce Carol Oates afterword - superb!)

This recently re-discovered novel appears to have garnered attention primarily due to the fact of its female authorship. While exceptional simply because female-authored stories about this time period are few and far between, the story itself leaves much to be desired. All too often, works created by women are touted as great not because they are worthwhile pieces of art, but because they were done by women, whose lack of access to education throughout history has greatly hampered their creative abilities. Thus, when a woman comes along possessing the necessary capabilities for hammering out a narrative, we feel compelled to praise her for it, regardless of whether or not it is fit for human consumption. "Hope Leslie" is notable because it was written by a woman who defied the conventional female stereotypes, not because it contains any ideas, plot, or themes that have never been discussed before.

It begins essentially as a narrative about the interaction between Puritan and Native American cultures, but is soon dissolves into an Austen-esque romance, though it lacks Austen's genius and unmistakable narrative voice. While the issues of interaction between disparate cultures still are raised, the primary action of the latter part of the story involves a struggle over marrying off the heroine. She raises some fairly compelling dust by making an Indian maiden and a white boy fall in love early on in the story, but she soon abandons that in the name of convention. Sedgwick appears to borrow the Austen motif of the dashing young suitor with a dark past in Sir Philip Gardiner, and makes three women fall in love with the same man, who wisely (of course) chooses the heroine for his wife. Sedgwick doesn't exactly keep you at the edge of your seat, but then again, she probably didn't intend to. And we'll continue to sing her praises simply because she was a woman with enough intellect to compose a mildly interesting story involving a slightly plucky and free-thinking heroine.

Written in the early 19th century and portraying the New England Puritan lives of the late 17th century, Sedgwick creates multiple patterns for what women can be, maneuvering between what is "appropriate" behavior according to men and the church and what is the motivation of the heart. Hope Leslie, the eponymous character, is almost always motivated by her heart rather than the rules of Puritan New England, and this lands her in all kinds of trouble. Still, her heart wins almost everyone despite her breaking of rules. Catherine Maria Sedgwick offended readers from the West when this was published because they felt her representation of Indians, through her female character, was too noble. But for women reading the novel today, almost 200 years later, the inspiration of this book lies in the many female characters, all of which represent some "pattern" or model that individual women may find themselves identifying with. There is not ONE model of womanhood, femaleness, but many. Interestingly, there are two women blown up on a ship near the end of the book. One is given a funeral ceremony (although she was Catholic, not Puritan, masqueraded as a male, and lived with a male lover unmarried); the other woman is never missed by anyone. Reading to find out who and why is worth the ride. Enjoy the book!

The book was required reading for my American Lit Before 1865 class. I had never heard of it or the author before then. I am glad I was introduced to both. The narrative is fast paced and will not lose your interest. Sedgwick used the storyline to comment upon several issues peculiar to this country. It is amazing how many of those issues are still with us nearly 170 years after the book was written and over 350 years after the story's setting.