Mary Shelley's "The Invisible Girl" (short story, non-genre, love story, free)

Story itself is very simple & familiar: rich widowed man adopts an orphaned girl & raises her with his own son. Girl & boy fall in love. Dad disapproves. Lot of tears. Eventually, happy ending.

Reading it, however, required some effort. Very long paragraphs & some really old words. And while the story is clearly non-genre, presentation is ... sort of ... creepy - ghost story like.

Note: In spite of title, the story has nothing to do with invisibility, as is known to science fiction.

Fact sheet.

First published: 1832. Where?
Download full text from Horror Masters, Project Gutenberg of Australia, Manybooks, Feedbooks.
Rating: B.
Related: Stories of Mary Shelley, fiction from 19th century.

Best women genre authors

A panel presentation at SF Signal.
Note: At the moment, link doesn't seem to work. Hopefully, should be back live sometime.

My own favorites: C L Moore, Mary Shelley, & J K Rowling. I don't recall Shelley even mentioned in above panel; her classics (at least the ones I've read), including Frankenstein, actually make a light reading in spite of being very influential.
PS: Did you know Moore's "Black God's Kiss" is sometimes regarded as the defining story of sword-&-sorcery subgenre? Few others of the subgenre I've read appear to be poor rehashes. And her "The Bright Illusion" is among the first stories where aliens appear as truly alien; I'm not sure if this came before Weinbaum's "A Martian Odyssey" or not - but both are remembered for this feature, & I've an impression both came around the same time. While her superlative works came later in life, with Henry Kuttner, she has several good solo works too from her early career (apart from, sadly, several crappy ones too). She's often very original - a dream author for those who regard sf as a genre of ideas.

On my to-read list: Ursula K Le Guin & Andre Norton. I've heard good things about both, but have read only one story from each, neither of them particularly noteworthy. SF Signal link above has some suggested readings of Le Guin.

Lois McMaster Bujold is a name I've heard often but never read. Would like to check something out, particularly any short fiction.

Two well regarded names that don't really figure in my list: Anne McCaffrey & Alice Sheldon (better known by her pseudonym James Tiptree, Jr). I've only read "Weyr Search" of McCaffery, the original story of the massive Pern series; not bad, but didn't really make me seek more. I've read 3 or 4 stories of Sheldon, & liked only one of them - Hugo & Nebula winner "The Screwfly Solution" which actually has the same identical plot as one of the Murray Leinster's Med Ship stories I cannot recollect the name of.

Asimov's robots are lineal descendants of vampires!

Genre veterans must have known it a long time; my eureka moment came only recently.

1. When introducing Eando Binder's "I, Robot" in Asimov/Greenberg (Ed)'s "Isaac Asimov Presents Great SF Stories 1 (1939)", Asimov tells us the origin of his robot stories is in this Binder original: 'Two months after I read it, I began "Robbie", about a sympathetic robot, & that was the start of my positronic robot series.'
   
   Having read most of Asimov's robot stories, I can see the connection. And if "Robbie" is the story I think it is, it is but an elaboration of an incident in Binder's story.
   
   Related: Download comic book version of this Binder story.
2. Binder tells us in "I, Robot" that this story is a reaction to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein": "it is the most stupid premise ever made: that a created man must turn against his creator, against humanity, lacking a soul. The book is all wrong."
   
   Incidentally, the little girl incident in Binder story also happens in "Frankenstein". The most significant difference between the two is: in "Frankenstein", the creator abandons his creation, making him survive the best he can; in "I, Robot", creator does required hand holding & prepares him to meet the human world.
3. Mary Shelley in "Frankenstein" gives us the vampire connection: "being whom I had cast among mankind, and endowed with the will and power to effect purposes of horror, such as the deed which he had now done, nearly in the light of my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave, and forced to destroy all that was dear to me."
   
   Shelley actually makes biblical connections too & also with an apparently bible-inspired book called "Paradise Lost" (I haven't read it). More on it when I post on Shelley's novel.

A note for Indian readers on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"

While I'll post on the novel separately - probably a series of posts, given its influence - here is a word of caution for Indian readers. Story has a couple of passages that will likely rub the wrong way:

1. "slothful Asiatics" contrasted with "the stupendous genius and mental activity of the Grecians".
2. "His design was to visit India, in the belief that he had in his knowledge of its various languages, and in the views he had taken of its society, the means of materially assisting the progress of European colonization".
   
   What this character is doing is a socially honorable thing, & seems to have author's sympathy.

A note on John Kessel's "Pride and Prometheus"

I just finished Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", & I now realize that all speculative elements in this Kessel story are actually copied from "Frankenstein"!

Free fiction: Some stories of Mary Shelly

Dark Worlds links 5 online stories of Mary Shelly.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's "Transformation" (short story, fantasy, free): Think twice before exchanging your body with an evil magician!

I've heard variations of it in Indian folklore. Not sure if they inherit from this Shelley story, or this story is an adaptation.

Note the story uses arcane English - "thou" for "you", "art" for "are", ...

Story summary.

Guido il Cortese, a reckless young man from Genoa (Italy) & narrator, has blown up his substantial inheritance, & won't listen to sane advise of his father's friend & lover's father. After much drama, he finds himself penniless & friendless on a sea front, & is witness to a shipwreck - a ship hitting rocks in a storm. Out of the wreck comes an ugly magician with a chest full of wealth.

Having heard Guido's story & shown some magic, magician offers a deal: exchange your handsome youthful body with mine for 3 days only, & this chestful of wealth is yours!

Of course, magician has no intention of returning after 3 days. At the end of time, suspecting foul play, Guido heads to his lover's place. Magician, in Guido's body, is to marry her tomorrow - having repented Guido's past sins in front of her dad!

Some drama, & a happy ending.

Fact sheet.

First published: "[in 1831 and initially appeared in The Keepsake, an annual gift book to which she contributed several stories and poems from 1828-1838.]"
Rating: B
Download full text from Real Pulp Weekly.
Download scans along with illustration above from Webofmind.
Related: All stories of Mary Shelley; all stories from 19th century; feed that collects only posts about Mary Shelley's stories.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's "The Mortal Immortal" (short story, immortality, free): It's no fun to be immortal in a society of mortals

While surreptitiously drinking the "Elixir of Immortality" his guru was brewing for himself, little did Winzy realize the trouble he was getting into. His drank it mistakenly, thinking it was a love antidote - after a quarrel with his girlfriend Bertha! Guru, master alchemist Cornelius, will himself die 5 years later of old age, having been deprived of his years' effort & a failed second attempt at the brewing the potion.

Much of the story is about the jealously of the society of mortals against someone who ages very slowly.

Story is narrated by Winzy on July 16, 1833 - that's his "323rd birthday!"

Mostly a light read.

Story makes a passing reference to "The Wandering Jew". I'd first seen his reference in Walter Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz" (a character that appears in all 3 stories, & is may be 2000 years old by the end of the novel!), & assumed it was Miller's creation. Looks like it's some Biblical legend.

Story also makes a passing reference to human hibernation. Apparently done with "enchantments"!

Fact sheet.

First published: The Keepsake, 1834 (via Internet Book List).
Download full text from The Wondersmith.
Rating: A
Related: All stories of Mary Shelley; all stories from 19th century; feed that collects only posts about Mary Shelley's stories.