Well, this was definitely the highlight of this trip to me. In fact, I'd call it a peak moment in my life!
Before leaving home, Ellen and I both researched our favourite writers so we'd know where to find them on our literary pilgrimage. One of my searches was for Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. I felt that I already knew her fairly well, having spent years working on a picture-book biography about her life and her writing of Frankenstein. Like many people, I was amazed by Mary's story. Writing a book about her was a joy.
So imagine my delight when I discovered that the original Frankenstein manuscript was in Oxford — which was on our route! It was physically THERE in the Bodleian Library! Mary's masterpiece, in her own words, handwritten in notebooks that are now 200 years old.
I wrote to the Bodleian and begged for a peek. Although the manuscript is not on display, it is sometimes available to scholars. My biographer credentials got me permission for what I expected to be a quick glance. Instead, I was warmly welcomed and got to spend the better part of an hour reading and studying the original words, complete with cross-outs, write-overs and editorial notes from Mary's partner, Percy Bysshe Shelley.
By the end, I was literally shaky with excitement . . .
That hour alone was worth this trip.
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