Mary Wollstonecraft Books

I waited almost 20 years to track down this book. My advice to you, Reader, is don't wait a single minute. "Footsteps" is delightful from multiple vantage points. Holmes is a fine, empathic writer who reveals the inner workings of the process of biography. He is also an insightful travel writer with a strong sense of place. While I greatly enjoyed his chapter on Robert Louis Stevenson, I was fascinated by his treatment of Gerard de Nerval. This is one literary byway that should not be missed.

Richard Holmes is a man profoundly obsessed with other people's lives. This book reflects the process of how the author struggled to come to terms with the mysterious past which is flitting away from us. It is also a book which tries to answer the question "Why should it matter?"

Whether hunting for the Shelleys in Italy or pursuing Stevenson in the Cevennes, Holmes manages to convey the feeling that it does matter, that these people had their share in shaping European culture and literature.

However, there is a price to be paid if one aims to bring ghosts back to life. The author is ever balancing on the fine edge of cutting himself off from the present, of falling into the abyss of the past and never wake up again, and he is painfully aware of this.

Holmes seems to conceive of biography as a temporary annihilation of his own self in order to grasp the world that his subjects moved in. The literary outcome is a great and full picture. On a personal level, it is trauma.

This book will (if it is not already) be a classic for anyone remotely interested in reading or writing biography.

This is the kind of book at which Holmes, in my view, excels. I'm not that particularly fond of his painstaking mammoth biographies of Shelley and Coleridge because, well, they're too run-of-the-mill and not all that much fun to read.-In other words, just the opposite of books like this one. This type of book, where the relationship between Holmes and the author he is writing about is constantly in play add a mystery and a haunted quality inherent in the time elapsed between Holmes' time and the author's that keeps the readers attention constantly transfixed (or, at least, this reader's). As Holmes himself puts it, "The material surfaces of life are continually breaking down, sloughing off, changing, almost as fast as human skin." Examples: The passage on Shelley's view of the double, the "ghost of the living person" the view of which signified the shadow world invading this one; Shelley's view that this is what was happening to him just before he drowned himself is the most affecting passage I've read on Shelley's end, and together with the photograph of the Casa Magni, which I'd never actually seen, and whose setting Mary Shelley said caused them to be in touch with the unreal sent shivers up my spine. It's not to be missed.-The section on Nerval was also interesting, as were the others. Curiously, the same sort of thing seems to have affected Nerval "...Here began for me what I shall call the overflowing of dreams into real life." Both sections are excellent and Holmes' speculation that "Nerval's whole work was a form of suicide note" seems right on the mark. The other sections are intriguing as well, but these two haunted me the most. In a moment of brave self-exposure where Holmes is following Shelley's footsteps in Rome, he recounts a dinner where they toasted Shelley as a fellow-exile and his name "rang to the roof." Holmes writes, "I sat there looking at my plate dangerously close to tears. I...determined to write a book for people like them too, who would never read it, people who have lost most things except hope."-You've succeeded Mr Holmes.

Beginning with a journey tracing Stevenson's walking tour in France, Holmes shows himself to be both a remarkable adventurer and writer. The thing that comes out clearly when he discovers the ruins of a bridge crossed by Stevenson is that the past is the past. And while it has an impact on the world today, it is gone. If you only read it for the first essay, it is well worth the money. The other essays explore other themes that affect biographers. A superb book that should be read by anyone interested in the mysrerious relationship between biographer and subject.

I read this the spring it came out, the spring I learned that once again there would be no summer vacation, no breaking free of the time zone. As much as a book can stand in for actual experience, this did, and I got a rollicking review of Romantic figures in the bargain. Holmes obviously conducts meticulous research, but he writes it up in a style that has the sweep of a fine novel. He is a master at marrying study and action.

A historic tract that lives up to its reputation.

It's hard to think that one would read any regency romances without also reading this book.

This was required reading for a graduate course in the Humanities. Wollstonecraft is not easy to read however, she makes a compelling argument. Mary Wollstonecraft viewed the institution of marriage simply as legal prostitution. She believed this to be the case for several reasons. First, the marriage laws in Britain at the time gave men legal rights over their wives including their property. The law also gave men custody of their children in event of divorce, and a woman could not even obtain a divorce without their husband's consent. For women divorce meant having to leave everything of importance in their lives behind. Thus, Wollstonecraft observed that Britain's laws left women in the unenviable position of being treated as mere chattel by their husbands. Second, Wollstonecraft argued that women's downtrodden position in society was not the cause of religious or moral teachings. She was emphatic in her assessment that it was women's denial of the same educational opportunities that men received that made them seem weak and inferior to men. Finally, she believed marriage only chained women to a life of drudgery in the home.

Armed with this information, Wollstonecraft set out to propose in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Women the idea, that equal education for women was the only remedy for this grave injustice perpetrated against them, and education for women would actually strengthen the institution of marriage. She made several prescient arguments to support this idea. First, Wollstonecraft believed schoolchildren needed the contact and interaction with other schoolchildren to develop properly. So, she argued against Britain's system of elitist education, especially its private schools and boarding schools. She advocated for the creation of national public schools, funded by the state, and attended by children from the entire socio-economic strata. Second, she thought it was imperative that both boys and girls must be educated together. The reason Wollstonecraft believed in coeducation, was that when both boys and girls get to know one another from an early age they would in turn, build friendships, and learn to respect one another. Therefore, when women get married, they will be able to serve as companions to their husbands and not just as trophy wives or sexual objects. "Nay, marriage will never be held sacred till women, by being brought up with men, are prepared to be their companions rather than their mistresses." Third, Wollstonecraft asked the question, how society could expect mothers to rear healthy boys capable of functioning as confident and productive men in society if their mothers, who raised them, were uneducated. She was horrified to think of the damage already done to children by uneducated, weak-minded mothers. Wollstonecraft articulates in beautiful fashion her argument for the need to educate women in the following quote. "If marriage be the cement of society, mankind should all be educated after the same model, or the intercourse of the sexes will never deserve the name of fellowship, nor will women ever fulfill the peculiar duties of their sex." This argument only enhances women's roles as wives and mothers. Finally, Wollstonecraft argued that the implementation of her educational reforms would prove to be a key element leading to the improvement of the institution of marriage in particular, and for family life in general. "Contending for the rights of women, my main argument is built on this simple principle, that if she be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue."

Recommended reading for anyone interested in history, psychology, philosophy, and feminism.

It is interesting to teach this book and track how students respond to this book, and how differently male and female students respond to the issues Wollstonecraft raises and discusses. We contextualize the book, and then extract it from its time and place and try to place the issues in our own time and place. A lot of great questions can be raised as we contemplate how far we have and have not come, and what can or should be done about that. . .and who shall do it. It is also an arresting exercise to ask students to apply different literary theories as they discuss this text. The idea is to encourage them to step out of their own shoes and into someone else's as they consider these issues. And it gives great opportunity to ask students to try to separate themselves from their own assumptions and stereotypes about gender and gender behavior, and reassess the issues in Wollstonecraft's time and place, and in light of today's assumptions and stereotypes, which can be harder to quantify than some presume.

If you need to read this for a college or high school class, or as part of a women's studies project that you are doing for some other purpose, then I'd like to assure you that it won't be all that painful. You may even enjoy it and wish that you'd found this book sooner, all on your own. I was only assigned to read parts of it, but I finished the book by choice.

It's interesting and well writen. Some of the language and nearly all of the issues that are brought up are inflamatory. In class discussions I compared the book to "Fight Club," and was nearly laughed out of the room, but I am at least partly serious. It does have the edge of a social visionary who wanted to shake things up and blow old fashioned society out of the water. No soap bombs, though, but that's only a technicality.

If you have any choice in the matter I would suggest that you choose this book over stuffier works by less forward thinkers. I swear that reading it won't hurt that badly.

As I read this book, I find myself comparing the authors examples of the treatment of women by their fathers/husbands with the way women are today treated by the media.

Mary discusses how women are to be kept ignorant of all knowledge and only to be valued for their physical charms (almost every ad on TV/in print). The examples of her contemporaries that she quotes are frighteningly familiar.

Why is this so? Who determines that the education of females is not relevant to society. Sure they are allowed to go to school now, but they are still treated with amazing patronization and condescenscion? The amount of my (intelligent) female friends that insist they are dumb/ignorant/stupid/an idiot is disturbing. Maybe now females are allowed to learn, they should also be allowed self esteem.

I think I got sidetracked. This book is a complex and well written argument for the emancipation and education of women. It is as true today as much as it was 200 years ago. It is, however a slow read as the language is couched in the vocabulary of the late eighteenth century and many of the terms are unfamiliar.

Today, most people know Mary Wollstonecraft for two things: her pioneering book, considered the first feminist work 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman', and her famous daughter, Mary Shelley, author of `Frankenstein'. Diane Jacobs' biography shows that Wollstonecraft was much more than her works and progeny. Born into a life of unnecessary poverty (her father wasted the family money), Wollstonecraft, from an early age, fought against the injustices she saw around her. By the time she reached adulthood, she had rejected the typical role for women in the 18th century, especially where conventional marriage was concerned; she also believed there was more to life than teaching or being a governess (the acceptable occupations for women). After trials, more poverty, and unrequited love, Wollstonecraft comes into her own when she becomes a writer and then travels to France during the revolution: here she is exposed to the wider world, serves as an education advisor in one of the revolutionary governments, and meets the love of her life, American Gilbert Imlay, by whom she has a daughter, Fanny. Although the relationship doesn't last, self-realization propels her to a mature writing style and philosophy that was unfortunately cut short by her death after giving birth to her second daughter, Mary. Jacobs does an excellent job of chronicling Mary's life and work; however, I found the beginning of the book repetitious (but then again, so was her early life), and only when Mary goes to France did I find it to be interesting. What I found fascinating was the stereotypical `female' reaction Mary has to her deteriorating relationship with Imlay: plaintive letters and even suicide attempts to get attention and keep an unfaithful (and flaky) lover with her. Jacobs has a knack for describing the supporting characters in Mary's life wonderfully: Mary's two sniping sisters, their resentment and complete lack of understanding of Mary's choices (and some of it is deserved, as many of Mary's promises to help them never came to be); Imlay, obviously good-hearted, but shallow (and surprisingly naïve - his request of William Godwin to not talk badly about him, even though he takes Fanny's support money away after Mary's death is worthy of criticism); Joseph Johnson, whose long-suffering support of Mary makes him one of the most sympathetic characters in her story; and Henry Fuseli, the painter, for whom Mary had an obsessive passion (despite the fact he was bisexual and married). Perhaps where this book falls short is in the portrait of William Godwin: not really mentioned until the middle of the book, he seems tacked on at the end; his and Mary's relationship, at times, seems one of convenience, at least for her. The most poignant part of the book, at least for me, was at the end, when Fanny, overlooked by her stepfather (and ignored by her biological father) accomplishes what her mother attempted: at 22, she travels to Wales, checks into a hotel, and commits suicide, leaving a letter hoping that her family would "have the blessing of forgetting that such a creature ever existed..." (285). It would have been fascinating to learn what this first, and possibly smarter, daughter of Wollstonecraft could have accomplished had she been given the chance.

If you are familar with Mary Shelley(or her classic book "Frankenstein") This extremely researched and well-written biography introduces you to her mother,Mary Wollenstonecraft(Godwin) A lady who was truly before her time(the late 1700's). The daughter of an abusive father and indiffrent mother,her brilliant mind enabled her to write the classic treatise "Vindication Of The Rights Of Women" while only in her 20's. She also journeyed to France and witnessed The French Revolution in all it's g(l)ory,had several passionate love affairs,one which produced a child though the father had no intention of leaving his wife and marrying her, making her a single working mother long before it was either fashionable or accepted. She married William Godwin ,(the father of the future Mary Shelley) and tragically died from complications of her childbirth at 38. Although Ms. Wollenstonecraft's life was short,it was well-lived and makes for fascinating reading that the author(Diane Jacobs) vividly brings to life with both immediacy and wit. An empowering book for woman as well as an engrossing bio for both sexes..

I had the great pleasure of reading and using Diane Jacobs' "Her Own Woman: The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft" while researching and writing my recent biography, "Theodosia Burr Alston: Portrait of a Prodigy (Corinthian Books, 2002). Vice President Aaron Burr, for all his flaws, was the first prominent American man to enthusiastically embrace and publicly endorse Wollstonectaft's radical feminist views on the equal education of women. He used her principles to give his teenage daughter, Theodosia, a "man's education" which would equip her for the three roles in life he envisioned for her: queen, president, or empress. I found Ms. Jacobs' work extremely insightful and enormously useful in understanding this woman who many cite as one of the first mothers of feminism. -- Richard N. Côté

Diane Jacobs has taken the intriguing, and sometimes tragic story of Mary Wollstonecraft and turned out a riveting account of a true pioneer. Fresh and readable, the book makes use of previously unknown sources to provide a new perspective on someone who's life was even more dramatic than her important writings. Far and away the best book on Wollstonecraft. Truely enjoyable and highly recommended.

I have the hardcover edition of this book. The oversize illustrations by Wrightson are amazing. When friends visit and thumb through it, they are always taken aback by the strength and subtlety of Wrightson's pen. One drawing is a two page spread of Dr. Frankenstein's lab, a 10" x 20" pen and ink drawing crammed with magnificent detail.

The text is in large type, but laid out very well, so a great way to gets older kids into this seminal novel.

No one will doubt that Mary Shelly's Frankenstein is a classic of horror fiction. It shows the horrific result when a man tries to play God. But this version of Frankenstein features the chilling (but amazing) illustrations by Bernie Wrightson. He truly brings to life the self-loathing creation of Dr. Frankenstein, with his gory appearance and enraged expressions. He expertly renders the landscapes of France and Germany, where the book takes place. These illustrations compliment perfectly Shelly's tale of the struggle between the man and his monster. A must for any Illustration student or horror fan. Definitely buy a copy. Buy two, in case you lose one.

Berni Wrightson, in what is probably the crowning achievement of his career, masterfully illustrates this romantic classic in superb full-page pen and ink. Wrightson's conception of the monster is both horrifying and frighteningly sympathetic, and he demonstrates both his talent for capturing dynamism and motion as well as his grasp of the emotional conflicts of the story. A note to literary students, however: this is an abridged version of Mary Shelley's work, albeit an effective one. A must-read for any well-rounded literary, and a must-see for any student or master of art. Also see _Berni Wrightson: A Look Back_ for a retrospective of Wrightson's work and the lost pages from _Frankenstein_.

WHAT a book! Hauntingly illustrated and absolutely riveting, this book entranced me, never mind my daughter (who has since named her toy lamb Mary Shelley).

Sharon Darrow's story of Mary Shelly, creator of Frankenstein, comes to life in the picturebook story Through The Tempests Dark And Wild, which will require good reading skills or parental assistance for the picturebook crowd. Fact and fiction blend in this survey of Shelley's life and writing talents.

Award-winning illustrator Angela Barrett utilizes luminous watercolor illustrations to vivify the life of Mary Shelley. Author Darrow skillfully weaves some fictionalized accounts into the facts known about Mary Shelley's life.

Born August 30, 1797, Mary was the child of two famous writers, philosopher William Godwin, and Mary Wollstonecraft. Sadly, the elder Mary died only a few days after her daughter's birth.

As a child Mary told stories, often ghost stories, and she spoke of a girl who could not forget the mother she had never known. She also read the books written by her parents in which they envisioned a better world with education and freedom for all.

Her relationship with her father was to change when he remarried. There were disagreements between young Mary and her stepmother. So, at the age of fourteen she was sent to Scotland to live with friends, the Baxters.

One can imagine that the child was bereft; she had lost her mother and now her father turned from her. But the Baxters offered her not only love but intellectual stimulation as well. Some are of the opinion that Mary's Gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein, began to grow in her mind during this time.

Mary later eloped with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. She was to write novels, plays, stories, and poems. Today, some 200 years after her birth, she is well remembered.

"Through the Tempests Dark and Wild" is masterfully presented, and would be a valuable addition to the libraries of all young readers.

- Gail Cooke

Thanks, it got here quick and is in good condition.

This was required reading for a graduate course in the Humanities. Wollstonecraft is not easy to read however, she makes a compelling argument. Mary Wollstonecraft viewed the institution of marriage simply as legal prostitution. She believed this to be the case for several reasons. First, the marriage laws in Britain at the time gave men legal rights over their wives including their property. The law also gave men custody of their children in event of divorce, and a woman could not even obtain a divorce without their husband's consent. For women divorce meant having to leave everything of importance in their lives behind. Thus, Wollstonecraft observed that Britain's laws left women in the unenviable position of being treated as mere chattel by their husbands. Second, Wollstonecraft argued that women's downtrodden position in society was not the cause of religious or moral teachings. She was emphatic in her assessment that it was women's denial of the same educational opportunities that men received that made them seem weak and inferior to men. Finally, she believed marriage only chained women to a life of drudgery in the home.

Armed with this information, Wollstonecraft set out to propose in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Women the idea, that equal education for women was the only remedy for this grave injustice perpetrated against them, and education for women would actually strengthen the institution of marriage. She made several prescient arguments to support this idea. First, Wollstonecraft believed schoolchildren needed the contact and interaction with other schoolchildren to develop properly. So, she argued against Britain's system of elitist education, especially its private schools and boarding schools. She advocated for the creation of national public schools, funded by the state, and attended by children from the entire socio-economic strata. Second, she thought it was imperative that both boys and girls must be educated together. The reason Wollstonecraft believed in coeducation, was that when both boys and girls get to know one another from an early age they would in turn, build friendships, and learn to respect one another. Therefore, when women get married, they will be able to serve as companions to their husbands and not just as trophy wives or sexual objects. "Nay, marriage will never be held sacred till women, by being brought up with men, are prepared to be their companions rather than their mistresses." Third, Wollstonecraft asked the question, how society could expect mothers to rear healthy boys capable of functioning as confident and productive men in society if their mothers, who raised them, were uneducated. She was horrified to think of the damage already done to children by uneducated, weak-minded mothers. Wollstonecraft articulates in beautiful fashion her argument for the need to educate women in the following quote. "If marriage be the cement of society, mankind should all be educated after the same model, or the intercourse of the sexes will never deserve the name of fellowship, nor will women ever fulfill the peculiar duties of their sex." This argument only enhances women's roles as wives and mothers. Finally, Wollstonecraft argued that the implementation of her educational reforms would prove to be a key element leading to the improvement of the institution of marriage in particular, and for family life in general. "Contending for the rights of women, my main argument is built on this simple principle, that if she be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue."

Recommended reading for anyone interested in history, psychology, philosophy, and feminism.

I picked this book up in Boston waiting for my wife to order coffee and was instantly enamoured with the author's prose. At times I wondered if I was reading an essay or poetry.

Regardless, Mary Wollstonecraft summarizes the plight of women very well and the reader ( whether male or female ) gets a palpable sense of it's injustice.

She concludes that since the literate male giants like " Rousseau" bolstered the prevailing thought that men were made to reason and women to feel it is hardly suprising that women were oppressed.

From birth women, in the manor of pets, are trained in refining their "sensibilities" pursuing frivolity in "proper manners and etiquette" and stylish dress to the exclusion of cultural and intellectual development. Her only purpose to marry and become slave to the whim of her man's pleasure . Her drudgery and mindless existence is punctuated only by her childish outbursts. In such a state she is hardly capable of independent living let alone thought and utterly unfit as a mother. This state of affairs not only degrades women but men of reason and society at large since domestic affairs ultimately spill upon the fabric of society.

The baleful consequences of such forced behaviours are a romantic temperment reinforced by reading novels of the day instead of science or history the latter deemed "boring" since the women lack the capacity to understand it. Such women being deprived of intellectual stimulation focus on vanity which further corrupts their soul making them envious, bitter and mean. Any woman who dares to challenge this state of affairs is ostracized almost to the same extent as a woman who has lost her "reputation".

Mary Wollstonecraft writings are rife with social and political commentary which is refreshing. She is particularly critical of the upper class and their perpetuation of oppression.

I spent years (beginning at age 9) wanting to more about Claire Clairmont. The more I read about all those around her, the more I wanted to know about her. I read this tome when it was first published. Then I read it again and dug through it the past two weeks. And I still don't know Claire Clairmont. But I know more of her than I would have if not for Stocking's painstaking care in how she handed us this book. A real treasure of information if you're at all interested in Byron, Shelley, the Shelleys (including Harriet), Hunt, Hogg, Godwin and his wife (the original fem)....All those years I read every book I could get my hands on about these other people in hopes of gathering a scrap of information about Claire Clairmont. It always amazed me that biograhpers (especially of Byron) dismissed her in a footnote.

Though nearly perfect, the book leaves you with this yawning blackness of not ever truly learning of what you hoped to know about Claire Clairmont. The author is wise (and she gave the greater portion of her life to this and you can tell)...in that she allows the reader to read and come to her own conclusions. In fact, next to having Claire Clairmont's letters published as they exist (and why not?)...this is the closest most of us will ever get. And, honestly, why haven't her letters been published AS WRITTEN...Worked great with Kurt Cobain's journal. Why isn't that kind of thing happening more often?

Mary Shelly is brilliant. This story is far beyond it's time and movies does not justify the contents of this book. Both Frankenstein and Dr. Frankenstein are unique characters both at the extreme ends. This book touches upon almost every aspect of human nature. I love the infancy stages of Frankenstein and his developed character. Dr. Frankenstein was corrupted with power and ultimately paid for is greed. I can go on writing about other aspects that makes this book so incredible, but the one aspect that truly effects us today is in the area of creating life. With advanced technology we are able create, and clone whatever we would like. The question is, if the creation is by our own hands should it exist?

This book was way ahead of its time when written. It is more about prejudice and not liking people because they look different, than a monster story. The "monster" created by Frankenstein is actually a very complex character with deep thoughts about philosophy and life in general. He strives for the acceptance of his creator who virtually abandons him. The book has virtually no similarity to the movie later produced with Boris Karloff.

The only problem I have with the book is that Shelly never tells you how the monster is created (unlike the "it's alive" scene with lightening and electrodes that made up the movie). A true classic that will never get old.

This book serves as an excellent introduction to the traveling exhibit by the same name organized by the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine. It provides the reader with a look at Mary Shelley, the times in which she was raised, and the influences that contributed to her writing the original Frankenstein book. There are both color and black and white illustrations which afford the reader a better understanding of this period of time and the context in which the book was written and published. The second section of the book looks at the Frankenstein myth in popular culture and his transformation from an articulate, self-educated being to a grunting brute capable of cruelty without remorse. The 1931 film version starring Boris Karloff is a typical example of this as well as the toys, games, breakfast cereal, coloring books, etc. which came later. The final section of the book addresses the present day concerns which have evolved from this book such as cloning and xenografting (the use of animal parts for tranplantation). The book is a masterful summary of the Frankenstein story nearly 200 years in the making.

Mary Shelley's creature, fashioned from sundry body parts and zapped back to life by the good ol' Dr. F, has been fascinating and frightening us more than 200 years after Shelley wrote the book. Here, Susan E. Lederer, an associate professor of the history of medicine at Yale University, disinters that Frankenstein legend and legacy. Yes, this is an exploration of the cultural and sociological relevance of myth and monster; what sounds like it could be deadly dull is actually powerful prose, a riveting look at the monster and myth's impact on pop culture, science, advertising and politics. There are also handfuls of incredible color and black-and-white photos of the Monster in films, consumer products, cartoons, books and other myriad media. A book to --- dare we? --- die for.

This biography of Mary Shelly offers very moving insights into the life (sorrows, defeats, triumphs) of the young enfant terrible who brought us the world's first truly "modern" monster, literature's most famous abandoned child. Nichols deftly conjures the fears and desires that allowed young Mary to dream such a terrible vision, and offers invaluable insights into the legacy Mary would ultimately sow. Strongly advised for all fans of Lit, Horror, Gothic Romance, and good old fashioned storytelling.

Couldn't resist the temptation to write that headline. It's true that this book brings Mary Shelley to life as a fascinatingly modern person; it shows the world she grew up in and how it ended up in Shelley's most famous book; and it brings up, through Shelley's concerns, questions of very modern import. As an adult I enjoyed this book thoroughly and hope it finds a variety of readers who will find in Shelley a kindred spirit. I thought the reading level was pitched a little low for teens, but that shouldn't bother them and the content is definitely appropriate for Young Adults. In fact it will probably offend a lot of parents who are not, shall we say, on Shelley's level... Shelley and her circle of friends might have made some mistakes; they took lots of risks; but they did all this in attempting to be true to their own ideals. A great story which has fascinated scholars for years is made accessible here, in all its gory detail, to teens (and, as I say, adult readers can enjoy it, too).