Lesley McDowellReseñas

Claire Clairmont is not her stepsister. She's not a talented writer, she's not married to a famous poet, she's the lover of great men. In 1816 Percy Shelley, his wife Mary and her sister Claire descend on Lake Geneva to visit Lord Byron. The famous rake has abandoned his wife and child and escaped debt and notoriety in England. Now Claire has come under his seductive influence and she is pregnant with his child. Tragedy strikes and Claire falls from sensual highs to having to make her own way in the world.

I did like the idea of this story, the young Claire becomes sexually aware and the plaything for two of the greatest poets of their age. The story shifts between Claire as a young teenager, Claire working in Russia and Claire in Paris and the thread that runs through is the idea that Claire was a muse to heroes and a fallen woman as well. I actually found the scenes with Byron rather disturbing, they felt more like abuse than love but this is a well-written book.

I'm giving up on this book because, despite my interest in the subject matter, it's just rubbing me up the wrong way. McDowell's style reminds me of a try-too-hard undergraduate essay (and I would know, I wrote many of them). She's trying desperately to twist every piece of evidence to fit her hypothesis and as a result a lot of the points she makes are seriously reaching.

started to read - skimmed through it - just didn't hold my attention