Caroline Lea

love-sex--frankenstein

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The fascinating story of sisterhood and survival based on shocking true events

Prize Women

The beautiful and atmospheric story of freedom and love that will grip your heart

The Metal Heart

The Glass Woman

Love, Sex & Frankenstein

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

An astonishing and spectacular book. I felt I was there every step of the way with Mary Shelley as she experienced the desperate pain of her love for Shelley, her desire for Byron and most importantly the battle to find her own voice and write her masterpiece, Frankenstein. A wonderful book about loving the monster inside us all and the freedom that can bring. There are rare moments when an author creates something they were born to write and this is Caroline’s moment. This book is an absolute masterpiece. Brava.

Julie Owen-Moylan, author of That Green Eyed Girl

Love, Sex & Frankenstein is an intoxicating tale about the monsters suppressed inside us. Fury and passion, obsession and revenge sizzle beneath the surface as out-of-this-world prose spins the book to a powerful, sensual grand finale. What a firecracker of a story - it completely swept me off my feet!

Fiza Saeed McLynn, author of The Midnight Carousel

Villa Diodati, Lake Geneva, 1816. 
 
Eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley has fled London with her lover, Percy Shelley, and her sister, Claire. Tormented by Shelley’s betrayals, haunted by the loss of their baby and suspicious of her sister’s intentions, Mary seeks a refuge. 
 
But Lord Byron’s villa, lying under ash-shrouded skies, feels more like a trap. 
When Byron suggests each guest write a supernatural tale, Mary is as drawn to the challenge as she is, unexpectedly, to Byron himself. 
 
An idea begins to form in her mind . . . spilling out of her in thick, black ink. 
 
A thing given life is before her. But is she in control, or is it?

***PRE-ORDER the thrilling new novel from the author of PRIZE WOMEN, THE METAL HEART and THE GLASS WOMAN now*** 
 
A suspense-filled retelling of the summer that should have broken Mary Shelley - but inspired her to write Frankenstein instead . . . 
 
---- 
 
Villa Diodati, Lake Geneva, 1816. 
 
The dark summer that birthed a monster . . . 
 
Eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley has fled London with her lover, Percy Shelley, and her sister, Claire. Tormented by Shelley’s betrayals, haunted by the loss of their baby and suspicious of her sister’s intentions, Mary seeks sanctuary. 
 
But Lord Byron’s villa, lying under ominous, ash-shrouded skies, feels more like a trap. When Byron suggests each guest write a supernatural tale, Mary is as drawn to the challenge as she is, unexpectedly, to Byron himself. 
 
And so an idea begins to form in her mind . . . 
 
It spills out of her in thick, black ink. 
A thing given life is before her. 
 
Day and night, she is possessed. 
Heart and mind. Body and soul. 
 
But is she in control, or is it? 
 
In this hauntingly evocative feminist retelling, Caroline Lea delves into the female rage, creative madness and steamy scandal that bore the world's most famous work of gothic fiction. Perfect for fans of The Essex Serpent and The Manningtree Witches.

Villa Diadoti, Lake Geneva, 1816. 
The dark summer that birthed a monster. . . 
 
Eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley has fled London with her lover, Percy Shelley, and her sister, Claire. Tormented by Shelley's betrayals, haunted by the loss of their baby and suspicious of her sister's intentions, Mary seeks sanctuary. 
 
But Lord Byron's villa, lying under ominous, ash-shrouded skies, feels more like a trap. When Byron suggests each guest write a supernatural tale, Mary is a drawn to the challenge as she is, unexpectedly, to Byron himself. 
 
And so an idea begins to form in her mind. . . 
It spills out of her in thick, black ink. 
A thing given life is before her. 
 
Day and night, she is possessed. 
Heart and mind. Body and soul. 
 
But is she in control, or is it?

Caroline Lea grew up on the island of Jersey. The Glass Woman, her debut, is a gothic thriller set during the Icelandic witch trials. The Metal Heart, a Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month, is an epic Second World War love story; Prize Women reveals a feminist scandal at the heart of the roaring 20s. Her latest novel reimagines Mary Shelley and the writing of Frankenstein.

Love, Sex & Frankenstein

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