The Bibliophile's Compass

🔴 1790 Henry James Pye appointed as British Poet Laureate by King George III 🔴 1828 First theatrical performance of Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" as "Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein" by Richard Brinsley Peake, starring Thomas Potter Cooke at Covent Garden 🔴 1951 Walt Disney releases animated musical film "Alice In Wonderland", featuring Kathryn Beaumont, J. Pat O'Malley, Ed Wynn, and Sterling Holloway and songs by Sammy Fain and Bob Hilliard

Dear Mary Shelley, I tried to fall in love with "The Mortal Immortal," but my literary heart remains faithful to your monster-making masterpiece, Frankenstein. The concept of drinking an immortality elixir sounds delightful—until you realize it's basically the world's worst skincare scam! "Eternal youth". It's like ordering immortality online but receiving a 300-year warranty on just your epidermis! I must admit though, the tragic romance between Mr. Forever-Young and his aging wife was genuinely moving. Every time she looked at him and probably thought, "Still not a wrinkle?! SERIOUSLY?!" And those Dorian Gray vibes I got definitely earned you some bonus points.

Oh boy, where do I start with "The Invisible Girl"? Picture this: a secret engagement, an angry guardian with anger management issues, an evil aunt and heartbroken lovers (one almost dead). Talk about checking all the Gothic cliché boxes! And what's with this recurring theme? "Let's take in an orphan and then act SHOCKED when they fall in love with our child!" Hello? Have these guardians ever read a single romantic and gothic story, especially by Mary Shelley? Maybe dating options were limited in the 1800s England. The biggest plot twist? This so-called "ghost story" contains exactly zero actual ghosts! False advertising at its finest! Maybe I would've enjoyed it more if everyone ended up haunted, cursed, or dramatically plunging off a cliff. But no—we get a happy ending instead. How disappointingly... pleasant.

I usually avoid stories heavily focused on romance—especially those that make you want to roll your eyes so hard they might get stuck. Imagine this: our damsel in distress falls head over heels for the very villain who destroyed her family. And here's the plot twist: he's not exactly bringing roses and chocolates to the family dinner table! Despite her attempts to join a convent and forget all worldly concerns, she finds herself making excuses to get closer to her family's arch-nemesis. To add to the absurdity, she consults a saint for advice—yes, a saint! Because when you're developing feelings for the guy who brought ruin to your family, what better decision-making tool could you find than divine approval? Spoiler alert: the saint gives her the green light, and suddenly, love conquers all—guilt, shame, and a dash of questionable morality are all forgotten! This isn't quite my style, but if you enjoy the idea of mixing love and tragedy like it's a cocktail gone...

Oh, Mary! You’ve truly outdone yourself this time. After the epic letdown that was “The Evil Eye,” you bounced back with “Transformation,” a tale that gives off serious transformer vibes—if the Transformers had existential crises rooted in Gothic literature, that is! Honestly, I felt like I was reading a mash-up of your own “Frankenstein.” I couldn’t help but think that the fiend in this story is basically Frankenstein’s monster or his cousin. Now, let’s talk about our protagonist, Guido—an insufferably spoiled brat from Genoa, Italy. I mean, come on, give me one more reason to roll my eyes! This guy has been a bully since childhood and harbors some truly misguided notions about romance, especially when it comes to Juliet, his childhood playmate. Spoiler alert: this is not your typical “Romeo and Juliet” story. In a plot that feels like a hangnail with a twist of Gothic flair, Guido forces Juliet to promise that she’ll marry him—at the tender age of eight! Nothing says true love like a...

Ah, the brilliant Mary Shelley—our beloved creator of Frankenstein ! I approached her short story, "The Evil Eye", with expectations as high as a pirate's flag atop the mast. But instead of a thrilling tale, I found myself shipwrecked on the rocky shores of disappointment. Sorry, Mary, I came for electrifying prose and spine-tingling supernatural or SiFi shenanigans, not a casual stroll through a bandit-infested beach! From the get-go, I was ready for an epic saga, perhaps a dramatic showdown in the Ottoman Empire or, at the very least, a sumptuous slice of Turkish delight! But nope! Our adventure unfurls in Greece, and let's say I'm left more confused than a goat on a hiking trail. Seriously, I questioned whether I needed a GPS or a crash course in geography to understand this cultural mash-up! Enter Dmitri, our tragically afflicted protagonist. His life reads like a Greek tragedy written by a particularly gloomy soap opera writer. Wife killed, daughter kidnapped...