Having just read a historical novel that tells the possible story of Mary Shelley’s creation of Frankenstein, I was intrigued by this new book telling of the same events from the point of view of Mary’s step sister Claire.
This was a confusing read to begin with as we have several different time lines from the main points in Claire’s life, each of them with its own completely different set of characters. I think that if I had not known who many of the characters were, I might have found it difficult to keep track of them all. As I got more immersed in the story, it became a lot clearer what was going on although the scenes set in Paris still felt quite jumbled.
The writing In this novel is beautiful with sentences that sometimes border on poetry. It was a real pleasure to read some of the chapters. However, for me the book was let down by the characters themselves. All of them seemed to be completely self obsessed and only interested in their own emotions rather than having any actual affection for each other. They are cruel to each other without a second thought and this is rarely balanced by any tenderness which made me wonder why they all stayed together.
The beauty of the writing and curiosity about what happened to Claire in the end kept me reading but it isn’t a book that I will return to.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers, Headline, for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I feel that this book is for people who know the Shelley-Godwin-Byron-Clairmont story quite well already.

You are thrown into the middle of the story, including experiencing all of the pet names of the real life people. I don’t know these so I found it hard to follow which characters were interacting with whom. I kept thinking that I knew & then something else would happen & I would doubt myself. Because of this I felt I kept being thrown out of the story. However once I worked this out the characterisation was pretty good.

The storyline kept jumping around so I found it a bit hard to follow. While the prose itself was easy to read (and very poetic, as you’d imagine from a book about the story of poets), the jumpy storyline & the problems pinpointing the characters made me really struggle to enjoy this. I understand why the book has been written this way, based on the author blurb. Also by the title & blurb, the book seems to be hoping to capture the Byron-Shelley fans. I feel it would be better to be a bit more obvious with some of the well-known facts to capture a wider market. Certainly I’d have preferred this.

Thank you to the author, publishers & NetGalley for access to this arc in return for an honest review.

I am generally a big fan of multiple timelines, and in Clairmont we get three taking us through the life of protagonist Claire. They cover different ages, cities and experiences, with a messy web of relationships tangling all three together. Add to the mix the famous Shelleys and Lord Byron, and you have an enjoyable historical novel that should pique most readers' interest.

DNF @ 13%

I can’t seem to get on with the writing style, it’s so chaotic that I am utterly lost every time I pick this book up.

I’m afraid that despite the interesting subject matter, I can no longer continue reading this book and hope that it suits and delights a different reader instead.

I love being given the opportunity to update our school library which is a unique space for both senior students and staff to access high quality literature. This is definitely a must-buy. It kept me absolutely gripped from cover to cover and is exactly the kind of read that just flies off the shelves. It has exactly the right combination of credible characters and a compelling plot thatI just could not put down. This is a great read that I couldn't stop thinking about and it made for a hugely satisfying read. I'm definitely going to order a copy and think it will immediately become a popular addition to our fiction shelves. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

This book tells the story of Clare clairmont who was the muse of Lord baron and shelley. She was also the sister of Mary shelley.
There are lots of tales of their exploits in Europe and their very unconventional and Liberal lifestyle so i was really looking forward to reading this. It spans three different moments in clare's adult life.

It's quite a difficult read. Fairly disjointed. Once you find the rhythm it's enjoyable. The style of the writing and the language used is very poetic and gives a gothic, romantic feel.

I had never heard of Claire Clairmont before reading the blurb for this book, but obviously knew of the infamous trip to the Italian Lakes, that resulted in the telling of ghost stories and ultimately, the creation of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'. Consequently, I was intrigued enough by the premise to request an ARC.

The book flips between different time periods and sometimes, I found this quite hard to follow, particularly at the beginning. However, as I got further into the narrative, some of this became clearer as I became more familiar with the lesser known characters and particularly as the relationship between Claire and Byron deteriorated.

Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of Byron and the Shelleys, outside of their work, is fairly limited and some of that knowledge came from the Horrible Histories 'Romantics' song.

Percy Bysse Shelley & Mary Shelley - had an affair and a child outside marriage. Later married. He died young in a drowning accident.

Lord Byron - serial womaniser, immortalised by Caroline Lamb as 'mad, bad and dangerous to know'.

Of John Polidori M.D. (the other person present on the Lakes trip) I knew absolutely nothing.

As a result, I was looking forward to reading the book and discovering more about this fascinating group of people and particularly to seeing if Byron's reputation was one he lived up to. Claire herself is an interesting and contradictory character - utterly self-absorbed, but constantly seeking the approval of her step-sister, even whilst telling herself that she doesn't care what Mary thinks.

By the end of the book, the main impression I was left with, was how complicated and intertwined their lives all were. It seemed as though everyone was either sleeping with everyone else, or if they weren't, they wanted to! It certainly dispels the myth that prior to the twentieth century, sexual morality was such that sex outside of marriage was something to be hidden away and caused society to shun those involved. Whilst this was certainly something Claire worried about (perhaps because of her lower social standing?), it didn't seem to do Mary any harm. Yes, there were those who disapproved, but by and large, her relationship with Shelley seemed to be accepted.

Whilst I found the narrative structure confusing at times, I did enjoy the book and it's one I will be talking about for some time to come. What I loved about it, was that it takes yet another forgotten woman and brings her story to the fore. Claire Clairmont was a muse for both Shelley and Byron. I know their poetry, so why is it that I had never heard of the woman who inspired it? Too often this is the case and I love that we are now getting books which seek to remedy this.

Had I gone into this with more than a basic knowledge of the Shelleys and Byron I’ve no doubt I’d have enjoyed it more, but I found this difficult to keep up with, particularly given the jumps in time, and I found the characters all very unlikeable. However, the writing style was very beautiful and reminded me a lot of Hamnet. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this, unfortunately not my cup of tea this time.

Really wanted to like this book, but the clumsy, frenetic writing style took away from the story and made it very difficult to determine who was who and what was going on. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

The spellbinding, bold new retelling of the story of Lord Byron and the Shelleys, from the perspective of Claire Clairmont. Beautifully written, compelling and thought provoking,

Loved the setting of this and the focus on a person who is often overlooked in the history of this literary circle. Really enjoyed this book and look forward to what the author writes next.

So sorry but this was a DNF for me too. Only ever done that once before. I pushed on to 50% and had to give up. I couldn’t engage with any of the characters, the writing was tedious, the subject matter really unpleasant. As a literary fan I thought this would be a fascinating story of the Shelley’s and their circle but I just found it really unpleasant and boring.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this ARC. It was just not my cup of tea.

This is an interesting story which was well researched. However, as I came to the story with no knowledge of the historical background, it was difficult to understand who and what was being described as the beginning, as no context was given. I also found the style of writing to be very frantic, and the story jumped around so much at the beginning that it was very hard to get into. I found all the characters rather unlikeable, including the main character Claire, from whose voice the story is told, but I was interested enough to keep reading to the end. Would I recommend it as a must read? No.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this dark and intriguing historical tale following the lives of some of the Romantic poets and those in their circle. Clairmont is a fascinating insight into the world of these people and their eccentricities. A clever and interesting novel that kept me turning the pages. 5 stars!

The Shelleys (Mary & Percy) and Lord Byron are well known, but this novel focuses on Claire - stepsister to Mary - and tells her story from three different timelines. Claire is a complex character throughout the tale and at times, her experiences are harrowing. Her relationship with 'Albe' Lord Byron is brief but the consequences everlasting and she can never escape his shadow. At times, this was a difficult story to read - deaths of children, emotional and sexual abuse, drugs but McDowell does not shy away from these and stays true to Claire's story - as she says, it is a story not to be silenced.

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

‘Clairmont’ is a beautifully written novel about Claire Clairmont, stepsister of Mary Shelley. Claire’s complexities are presented through three separate timelines in her life story. It starts with Claire’s experience in Geneva as she lives with the Shelleys and has a short, intense and ultimately very harrowing relationship with Lord Byron, known as Albe in this novel. Byron is presented as a selfish and spiteful narcissist in this tale, his influence on Claire (even at a distance) overshadowing her life. We then follow Claire’s life and loves through her time in Russia in the 1820s and Paris in the 1840s, as well as the affectionate and torrid relationship she shared with her sister.

Macdowell doesn’t shy away from the challenges faced by free-thinking women in the 19th Century, particularly those that have children out of wedlock. At times, Claire’s desperation to see her daughter and hatred for the man who is withholding her is very painful to read. She also movingly presents the sense of isolation and dislocation that women can feel when they are on their own in a world that doesn’t easily accept this. However, Claire’s spirit and her determination to reinvent herself ultimately lifts the reader above the gloom.

I really enjoyed reading this book as the characters of Percy and Mary Shelley, even the detestable Albe are brought to life - in all their self-indulgent misery.

Lesley McDowell uses three timelines to tell Claire Clairmont’s story but it’s the first that informs them all. In a cottage on the shores of Lake Geneva, eighteen-year-old Claire is staying with her slightly older stepsister Mary and her lover Percy; you’ll know them better as the Shelleys. They’re there because Lord Byron, whom they call Albe, is staying up the hill at Villa Diodati. We’re thrown straight into the chaos of the Shelley household and Byron’s stranglehold on it. He calls the shots and makes what rules there are.
We’re treated to a fly-on-the-wall view of the tangle of relationships. Also staying at the villa is doctor-poet John Polidori. He adores Mary but she’s devoted to Percy (Shelley). He is turn is in cahoots with Claire to attract Albe’s interest. McDowell paints even this younger version of Claire as complex and conflicted. She may be beguiled by Byron but she’s somewhat clear-headed too. But even with her self-awareness, Claire finds herself in thrall to this cruel man. This isn’t casual, thoughtless cruelty, though: Byron is manipulative and vindictive. Mad, bad and dangerous to know indeed. Both he and Shelley are expert gaslighters; Mary has her moments too.
The other parts of the book are equally interesting. A twentysomething Claire is a governess in Russia, her dreams haunted by her earlier loss. Twenty years later, she is living in Paris and still making decisions she’ll come to regret. Claire feels forever in the shadow of Mary’s light; people want to know her because she has known these geniuses rather than for herself. But she’s more than interesting enough to hold the centre of this gripping novel.

Clairmont tells the story of Claire Clairmont, the muse to both Lord Byron & Shelley.

Following Mary Shelley, her poet husband and Byron, we get a glimpse into 19th century radicals and thier strange and intriguing friendship.

Claire tells her story in 3 parts, the weeks in Geneva when the friends were together, when she is a governess in Russia and later in Paris when she is in her 40s. These chapters intermingle throughout the book but after the first 3 chapters, you quickly get into the rhythm and flow of the story.

I found it fascinating and read what is a substantial read, very quickly. I wouldn't say I liked the protagonist nor the other lead characters. They all had traits which were either shocking or plain awful. However, you do still find yourself rooting for Claire in a society that is dominated by men.

Overall, a great read that throws you into this strange, bohemian society.

The life of Claire Clairmont, the stepsister of Mary Shelley, has always been shrouded in some mystery—the name of her father, the number of her children, the relationship she had with Percy Bysshe Shelley—so it is no surprise that it attracts rewritings and rereadings. McDowell has an intimate knowledge of the primary sources surrounding the Shelleys and their families and circle, seen too in her previous novel about Mary's childhood friend, Isabella Baxter Booth. This latest novel carefully tracks Clairmont's entanglements with these famous literary figures while retaining a strong focus on her own inner life. As such, we are treated to a cross-section of Claire's stories, spanning several decades, that illustrate that even at the scale of a single individual, history doesn't quite repeat but often rhymes.

I found the first half of this novel quite slow, knowing (as I suspect many do) the historical facts of the relationship between Claire and Byron (called Albe almost exclusively here). Claire is at her least likeable in these earliest moments; her self-importance is almost obnoxious, so certain is she of how her place will be made in the world, and it bears real tragedy. I'd be willing to argue that the feeling of slowness, of dwelling unnecessarily on some of the earliest moments, is a reflection of the teenage Claire's own emotional state, ponderous and self-regarding, although this line of reasoning didn't make things go much faster on first reading!

Where Clairmont excels is in the acute descriptions and illustrations of the interpersonal politics at work in the world in which Claire and Mary moved. From a freethinking, blended family, the two middle-class women pose a challenge to Georgian and then Victorian society's expectations of women. Mary, ultimately, conforms; she marries and plays the literary widow. Claire never does. Defiant and resilient, but no heroine, she moves through society—in England, in France, in Russia—with an incisive understanding of how people relate to and interact with one another.

McDowell captures well the grief caused by the nineteenth century's high levels of infant mortality, as well as the indignities and abuses of its patriarchal attitudes and norms. There is an acute painfulness to some of the cruelty of Albe, especially in our current post-#MeToo moment, such as the performance of Christabel, during which Albe assaults Claire, but also his drugging of her (and perhaps Mary too) with pennyroyal, an abortifacient. “Lying, meanness, cruelty and treachery,” as Claire herself says of his treatment, and these come to characterise too Shelley, whose friendship with Byron takes precedence over his sense of responsibility to and for Claire and Mary and also, we see, his maid.

This novel excels in its characterisations and presentation of a story at once notorious and obscure. A great addition to the neo-Victorian canon.

A slow if not intriguing read of the romantic era from the view of a woman often overlooked. Clairmont is from the pov of Claire Clairmont,
- writer and younger sister of Mary Shelley. From her view, the romantic poets such as Byron and Shelley are not enigmatic geniuses but men of their time who can be cruel, disloyal, insulting. Her complex relationship with Mary over the years in wonderful to read for they are both given the complexity that is often missing when they are discussed in the context of the men they loved.

Overall, a beautiful book - structurally, I wasn't a fan of the constant back and forth but that's just me!