Talk:Maurice (Shelley)

Journals/note
When you said there was a journal entry, I looked it up on Amazon Search Inside. That volume always has excellent notes, so I hope the following contains material of use for the article, though the note is out of date (and I don't know if there is more certainty now that the 10 August entry refers to Maurice, though it occurs to me that the mountain trip would have taken some time).

The diary mention is typically terse:

"Thursday 10 [August 1820]—Write a story for Laurette—Walk on the mountain—Le Buche delle Fate [fairy grottoes or caves]—The weather is warm & delightful [runs into the next day's entry]"

The note gives interesting context about other stories:

"During 1820 and 1821, Mary wrote several short tales, though the story for Laurette is the only one mentioned in the Journal and is never mentioned by name. In the Bodleian library (MSS. Shelley Dep e.229) there is the manuscript of an unfinisned story for children entitled Cecil which probably belongs to this period, and she also produced two finished tales which she considered good enough for publication. In a letter to the Shelleys dated 10 July 1821, Leigh Hunt regretted that he had been unable to use a story sent to him by Mary for the Indicator, and in October 1821, Godwin wrote to Mary with his comments on a tale called Maurice, now lost, which he considered to be too short for publication (SM pp. 652, 698C–D)." (The Journals of Mary Shelley, 1814–44. Ed. Paula R. Feldman and Diana Scott-Kilvert, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995, note 3, p. 328. ISBN 0801850886.)

-qp10qp (talk) 23:16, 3 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I've added the quote from the journal - that is great. Thanks. "Cecil" now seems to be dated to 1844 - see List of works by Mary Shelley. Awadewit (talk) 23:24, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Suggestions from Shoemaker's Holiday

 * The lead is short and choppy - expansion would help rectify this problem


 * The "Background" section needs to explain some of the details more, such as why Allegra was given to Byron, why Mary traveled with a sick Clara, etc. - we want a vivid portrait of the family here


 * Remind readers of who William Shelley is


 * "Lady Mountacashell, a former pupil" sentence is convoluted


 * Restructure first paragraph of "Writing and publication" to make it easier to follow


 * Rewrite the second paragraph of "Writing and publication" to make the sentences shorter and easier to understand


 * Remove detail of Dame Barnet teaching children to read, unless it is important later; if so, mention it there Awadewit (talk) 17:32, 30 June 2008 (UTC)