Challenge 10: Read any novel from an author you consider a one hit wonder

Have you ever found someone who said their favorite band was a-ha? If you're an American, your first thought upon hearing that name is probably “Take On Me”, and little else. If you happen to be from almost anywhere else in the world, though, you might be able to rattle off your favorite dozen a-ha songs, or maybe your least favorite two or three songs. You see, for years a-ha was a global sensation, selling out albums and filling stadiums from England to Japan and everywhere in between. Somehow, in the U.S., enthusiasm for the Norwegian band faded, in spite of more than a decade of the rest of the world clambering for their newest songs and albums. I would encourage you to jump onto your favorite streaming service and check out a-ha, both old and new, to get caught up with the rest of the world and see what you've been missing.

What you've been missing is the subject of this challenge, piercing the ignominious veil of the one hit wonder. Just before delving into Frankenstein, I asked myself what I know about Mary Shelley's body of work. Beyond Frankenstein I knew she wrote multiple travel journals, and her husband was a publisher, Percy Shelley. Her other works of fiction? Not a thing. After finding out that her most well known and renowned work, Frankenstein, was written when she was still a teenager, I did a quick search on her career as a novelist. She wasn't the most prolific writer, but she was toying with some interesting ideas long after Frankenstein.

So I set aside Frankenstein and turned to her final work of fiction, Falkner, published in 1831 after over a decade of honing her craft as a writer. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I found still managed to surprise me. If I had to classify it, I would call it a crime drama above all else, but it included lots of suspense, a smattering of romance, and even a few fairy tale elements. More than once I was reminded of a Shakespearean tragedy in the making, positive that one or more of the main characters would end up dead by the end.

Rupert Falkner has committed a deathly crime, witnessed by nobody but his accomplice. It may have been an accident, but the blame lay squarely on his shoulders, a crushing guilt that weighs heavier on him every day. Running from his crime proves futile, and when he decides that ending his life will escape the remorse and pay for his sin, he is thwarted by a child, six year old orphan Elizabeth Raby, who is upset that he's disturbing her parents' graves. He takes her back to the family sheltering her, quickly discovering her connection to his past, and forgoes his death wish in order to raise her as his adopted daughter. They will travel across Europe, staying ahead of any pursuers, while he educates her and provides a life far beyond the squalor she lived in as an orphan. But he still has his past to deal with, and his demons won't let him go so easily. They meet Gerard Neville, the son of his victim as he travels far and wide, determined to find the truth of his mother's disappearance. Elizabeth and Gerard never quite forget about each other, and though the years pass he never completely escapes her thoughts. Falkner evades capture for over a decade with his adapted daughter in tow the whole time. Her education continues as he procures a governess to teach her, and his determination to “mold her” (his words) into a person wholly dependent on him seems at odds with his desire to do right by his victim. They meet Gerard again, still on his quest to exonerate his mother's name, and at last events conspire to finally hold Falkner accountable. This is the point where I was sure Shelley was going the Shakespeare route, with Falkner, Elizabeth and Gerard all victims of a writer's desire to pull the reader's heartstrings. Instead it takes a happily ever after path, wrapping everything up in a nice bow where everybody gets what they want in the end.

My number one rule when reading any book is that I can forgive any plot hole, minor inconsistency or error as long as the story does what it's supposed to: Suspend my disbelief. Take me someplace else. Make me forget about that stack of bills or a poor performance review at work. Falkner is far from perfect, with plenty of plot holes, and characters so unrealistic they belong in a fairy tale, such as Elizabeth being perfect in almost every way, from her angelic countenance to her almost saintlike personality. Also it seems like Shelley's biases might be peaking through her characters occasionally, like at Falkner's trial when he simply over-awes the jury of commoners with his high born majesty, and they're instantly compelled to rule Falkner not guilty. Another massive plot hole looms here, as there is no way Falkner would have walked away from his trial declared an innocent man.  Also, Gerard, who spent his youth searching for answers on his mother’s fate, devolops such a high opinion of him that his initial desire for a duel fades by the story’s end and remose is the one and only punishment incurred on Falkner.

Like so many other things, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense as Falkner carried his secret through most of the book. And Shelley might not be a match for Jane Austen but she could still write a compelling romantic subplot. Disappointing ending aside, I liked the occasion when Shelley stopped to describe a scene or a landscape, and the two century old writing seemed easier than some other books I've read, like Poe's novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.

Like other challenges, this one took me off of the beaten path and I was rewarded handsomely. I can't say Shelley is one of my favorite authors, but I can say I'm a fan, and will continue to read more of her work. In addition to the thrill of discovering a new author, the more nineteenth century literature I read, the more used to it I get and less intimidating it becomes. I most definitely see Frankenstein in my near future.

D.G. Raymond