Douglas Lee Pendergrass

Young Wollstonecraft Douglas Lee Pendergrass

This is the story of the early life of Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) the feminist author of "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman." She is perhaps remembered most as the mother of Mary Shelley (Frankenstein). Told partly through the recollections of her teachers, this story also includes snippets from authors' works she is known to have read, as well as, revealing excerpts from personal letters she wrote when planning to help her younger sister escape an unhappy marriage. Written in the style of a movie, the story flows smoothly from one scene to another, unfolding the active mind and exploits of an undervalued child and her becoming a woman in an age when reliance upon cunning, intellect, and wits were all she, or any of her gender, could count on and call their own. Young Wollstonecraft is about self-discovery, friendship, and survival. It's about the experiences that went into forming the character foundation of the future champion for the rights of women, Mary Wollstonecraft.