Halloween Launch of the Shelley-Godwin Archive

A page from the Frankenstein manuscript, showing revisions

It's been a ridiculously long time since I last posted on this site, as I've been busy finishing my doctoral thesis (which has now been submitted - hurrah!). Lots has been happening in the meantime, which I'll be blogging about the coming weeks, but today I want to draw attention to a superb new digital project which will be launching this evening.

The Shelley-Godwin Archive will digitise and publish on the web a range of manuscripts by Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin, Percy Shelley, and Mary Shelley. I've been lucky enough to work with some of Mary Shelley's manuscripts in the Bodleian, but this project will make these documents available to anyone with an interest in this family of writers, wherever they are in the world.

Let's hope it's suitably dark and dreary tonight, because site goes live at 8.00pm with - yes, you've guessed it - the Frankenstein manuscripts. These manuscripts show how the text was shaped by both Mary and Percy into the novel that we know today, and it really is fascinating to look at the revisions and corrections that were made to these drafts. I'm really looking forward to the launch of this site, and to looking at the manuscripts added over the coming months. If you'd like to be informed of updates to the project, you can join the mailing list by sending your email address to info@shelleygodwinarchive.org

Happy Halloween!