In this episode of Why Authors Write Emily Franklin, the best-selling author of "Love and Other Monsters," discusses her compelling reimagining of the summer when Shelley Byron, Mary Shelley, and forgotten stepsister Claire Clairmont were together. The conversation delves into the mystery of Frankenstein's origin story the extensive research Franklin did to understand the erasure of Claire Claremont from that story, and the emotional and powerful themes explored in the book.

"Why would Mary Shelley write her own stepsister out of the story?" Franklin asks. That omission motivated her to narrate the incidents in Love & Other Monsters from Claire’s perspective.  She reads through all of Claire's personal journals and finds that any mention of the summer of 1816 is missing from the record.  Some journal pages had even been cut out, entire leaves were removed, and the surviving material was tampered with. To write Clairmont back in, Franklin becomes a literary detective, triangulating Claire’s story through the writings of Byron, Shelley, and Mary Shelley to fill in the details that might have been too damaging to their reputations to leave in the record.

Emily also shares insights into her writing process, book tours, and advice for aspiring writers.

Highlights and Insights

• Reimagining History through Years of Research
• Wirting Frankenstein and the Erasure of Claire Claremont
• When Great Writers Do Bad Things
• Emily's Writing Process & Productivity Secrets
• Advice for Aspiring Writers