About the Author

Sharon Darrow, when asked why she chose to write about Mary Shelley, explains how much her life and Mary's intersect emotionally. "We share a concern about the effects of new technologies on our hearts, minds, and lives," she explains. "We are both preoccupied by the complexity of parent-child relationships, and we have both made choices that were difficult but personally necessary." THROUGH THE TEMPESTS DARK AND WILD is Sharon Darrow's first book with Candlewick Press. She lives in Chicago with her two cats and teaches in Vermont College's M.F.A. in Writing for Children program.
Angela Barrett is the award-winning illustrator of many books for children, including THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES and ROCKING HORSE LAND AND OTHER CLASSIC TALES OF DOLLS AND TOYS, both retold by Naomi Lewis. Of what drew her to this story, she says, "First, Mary grew to maturity during a time period in which everything - the writers and artists, the social developments, the wars, the houses and fashions and all the trappings - has long interested me. Second, Mary's dark romantic imagination appealed to me. What dreams she must have had!"