Hideous Love: The Story of the Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein

From Stephanie Hemphill, author of the Printz Honor winner Your Own, Sylvia and the acclaimed novel Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials, comes the fascinating story of gothic novelist Mary Shelley, most famous for the classic Frankenstein.

An all-consuming love affair with famed poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, a family torn apart by scandal, a young author on the brink of greatness: Hideous Love is the story of the mastermind behind one of the most iconic figures in all of literature, a monster constructed out of dead bodies and brought to life by the tragic Dr. Frankenstein.

This luminous verse novel reveals how Mary Shelley became one of the most celebrated authors in history.

How did a teenage girl navigate tragedy, scandal, and a world-changing love to write a masterpiece that still haunts the world?

• Novel in Verse: Experience Mary Shelley’s tumultuous life through a lyrical, first-person narrative that captures every moment of passion, creativity, and heartbreak.
• Biographical Fiction: Step into the world of literary giants like Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, reimagined through the eyes of the young woman who walked among them.
• The Story Behind Frankenstein: Discover the legendary ghost story contest in a rain-swept Geneva villa that sparked the creation of one of the most famous gothic novels of all time.
• Love and Loss: Follow an all-consuming, scandalous love affair that led to both breathtaking genius and devastating personal tragedy.

An all-consuming love affair.

A family torn apart by scandal.

A young author on the brink of greatness.

Hideous Love is the fascinating story of gothic novelist Mary Shelley, who as a teen girl fled her restrictive home only to find herself in the shadow of a brilliant but moody boyfriend, famed poet Percy Shelley. It is the story of the mastermind behind one of the most iconic figures in all of literature: a monster constructed out of dead bodies and brought to life by the tragic Dr. Frankenstein.

Mary wrote Frankenstein at the age of nineteen, but inspiration for the monster came from her life—the atmospheric European settings she visited, the dramas swirling around her, and the stimulating philosophical discussions with the greatest minds of the period, like her close friend Lord Byron.

This luminous verse novel from award-winning author Stephanie Hemphill reveals how Mary Shelley became one of the most celebrated authors in history.

Praise for WICKED GIRLS: “The expressive writing, masterful tension, and parallels to modern group dynamics create a powerful and relevant page-turner. ” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for WICKED GIRLS: “An excellent supplementary choice for curricular studies of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, this will also find readers outside the classroom, who will savor the accessible, unsettling, piercing lines that connect past and present with timeless conflict and truths.” - ALA Booklist

Praise for WICKED GIRLS: “In subtle, spare first-person free-verse poems, the author skillfully demonstrates how ordinary people may come to commit monstrous acts. Haunting and still frighteningly relevant.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A . . . riveting portrait of the artist as a young woman.” - Kirkus Reviews

“This present-tense novel in verse provides an intimate glimpse into Mary’s life…Readers will identify the parallels between the creation of a monster and the creation of her famous book. ” - School Library Journal

“A gripping story” - Publishers Weekly

“An ideal companion piece for teens studying the original classic…Hemphill, author of the Printz Honor Book Your Own, Sylvia (2007), manages to plumb from it her own vein of riches.” - Booklist