Lodore, Vol. 1 (of 3)

by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

"Lodore, Vol. 1 (of 3)" by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is a novel published in 1835. When Lord Lodore dies in a duel, he leaves behind his daughter Ethel and estranged wife Cornelia to navigate a web of legal, financial, and familial challenges. Shelley examines power and responsibility through three contrasting women: the over-dependent Ethel, society-obsessed Cornelia, and the independent intellectual Fanny Derham. The novel explores women's education and social roles within a patriarchal culture that pressured them into dependence.