By Nava Atlas | On November 29, 2015 | Updated November 22, 2025 | Comments (3)
In the preface to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797 – 1851), she tells the story of how she came to write her masterpiece. When it was published in 1818, Mary wasn’t yet twenty-one.
Mary’s liaison wth Percy Bysshe Shelley, the romantic poet, altered the course of her life. In the summer of 1814, at age seventeen, she eloped to Italy with Shelley, who left his distraught, pregnant wife behind.
She joined his literary circle, which included Lord Byron, and from there, the story unspools. Here, in Mary Shelley’s own words, is how it came to pass that a sheltered young woman from England came to write one of the most haunting tales of all time, with a character that continues to grip the imagination: Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On November 10, 2015 | Updated June 30, 2024 | Comments (4)
Here’s a gallery of portraits of some of our favorite classic women authors as children, proving that they started out life just like the rest of us mere mortals! First up, Edith Wharton (1867 – 1937) in a painting (at right) done when she was around 8 years old, by Edward Harrison May.
Despite the world of wealth and privilege in which she grew up, she didn’t come into her own until she started to have her writings published. Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On October 26, 2015 | Updated October 26, 2025 | Comments (0)
Every year, as Halloween approaches, literary thoughts turn to Edgar Allen Poe, Bram Stoker, and Stephen King.
Roundups of classic haunting and thrilling stories that appear like clockwork in late October have been pretty male-dominated, even though women have been diving into the uncanny valley since the 19th century (see later in this post).
The following sampling of classic novels and stories by women (by no means exhaustive) will send shivers up your spine while giving your taste for great language a thrill.
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By Nava Atlas | On September 27, 2015 | Updated January 27, 2024 | Comments (0)
There’s something quite intimate in seeing the handwriting of revered authors whose works we’re accustomed to seeing in print. Here’s a sampling of letters, notes, manuscript fragments, and diary entries of classic women authors we know and love.
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By Nava Atlas | On June 7, 2015 | Updated December 3, 2024 | Comments (3)
Early on in her writing career, an incident in Agatha Christie’s personal life practically transformed her into a character from her mystery novels. Already a well-known author (though nowhere near the fame she would later achieve), she went missing on December 3, 1926, her whereabouts unknown for eleven days.
So intense was the concern over her disappearance that a nationwide search ensued in England.
At the time, Agatha was 36 years old, and had been married to Archie Christie since 1914. Though they were initially in love, their relationship was stormy from the start, and time proved that they weren’t a good match.
Some time before the disappearance incident, Archie had met Nancy Neele, and the two embarked on an affair. When he confessed the liaison to Agatha, the couple quarreled, and in a pique, Agatha took off in her car. Read More→
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