By Isabell Macrina
Hometown Weekly Staff
Emily Franklin, bestselling author of “The Lioness of Boston," joined the patrons of Westwood Public Library to discuss her new novel “Love & Other Monsters." Her new historical fiction novel centers around 1816, the year with no summer, and follows the often-forgotten stepsister of Mary Shelley.
“Who has heard of Claire Clairmont before tonight?” Franklin began the night by asking the audience. When no one responded, she grinned and just said, “Excellent.”
Franklin described Claire as an impressionable, clever, and dangerously loyal stepsister who was responsible for bringing together the famed romantics at the mansion in Lake Geneva. Lord Byron, his physician John Polidori, Percy Shelley, and of course Mary Shelley sheltered in the mansion and created some of the classics from the era, from Frankenstein to the modern vampire legend that shaped literature forevermore. But Claire was in residence at the mansion too, so why don’t we hear about her? Franklin’s novel aims to explore that. Her novel speaks to the relationships between sisters, lovers, and friendships that affected the world of literature and the mystery of why Claire seemingly vanished from history. Very few of her written works survived, but commentary from other letters makes it known she was witty and talented.
Franklin’s process of writing takes years of research, exploration, and finding the characters in the real people. When writing this novel, she originally wanted to rotate perspectives between the characters and said that they all spoke to her, but Claire’s voice kept coming back to her as if screaming that she was there, and her story was important.
Having written over 25 books in various genres and age ratings, Franklin said that the scaffolding of all her writing, from historical to young adult, is poetry. She studies the world; her husband says she has multiple tabs open in her head at once. This gives her a unique perspective on the world that she puts into every piece of writing.
She also celebrates human connection in her works and real life. She passed out postcards with images of the book and encouraged patrons to send them out to their friends who might enjoy the book. In a world of digital connection, it was wonderful to prompt an old-fashioned analogue connection.
“Love & Other Monsters” tells of the creation of Frankenstein and the other monsters at play in the mansion and is a compelling read to hear the tale of a forgotten sister who shaped literature.
