Dreams of the Romantics: A Story Cycle by M. G. Turner

Reviewed by James M. Fisher

I believe that Dreams of the Romantics is the first chapbook that I have ever reviewed, and I would not have heard of it at all if I wasn’t a connection with the author’s father, Philip Turner, at LinkedIn. It was he who reached out to me regarding the possibility of getting his son’s book reviewed here at TSR. I don’t review poetry (which I assumed it was) so I was happy to see that it is firmly in the gothic literature category, which I am more comfortable with.

However, there is a strong poetic connection as the entire volume, at just under 90 pages, is a prose ode to one of the great romantic poets, Percy Bysshe Shelley, right from the epigraph (a passage from “Time”) to the final story, “Anniversary”.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall on that day in The Year Without a Summer (1816) when a gathering of friends occurred at Villa Diodati hosted by Lord Byron with Percy and Mary Shelley in attendance along with Doctor Polidori and Mary’s half sister Claire. After a full repast, the talk turned to storytelling, in particular that of a dark gothic tale. It was from this night that Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus” and Polidori’s “The Vampyre” was born.

But wait, there is another guest; that of M. G. Turner, the author of this chapbook himself. How did he come to be amongst this group of friends? He is encouraged to tell a story which explains how he came to travel back in time.

Other entries recount aspects of the others in attendance. “The Rime of Mary Shelley” for instance, has Mary experiencing Samuel Taylor Coleridge reading his famous novel in verse and later thinking:

“…first and foremost being that yes, she can do this, yes, she can write, yes, she can tell tales, yes, she can sail the seas and come on home, just like the tragic hero of the poem, surviving the cruelties of fate, only to be damned to perpetually tell his tale, again and again, to whomever is willing to listen.”

It is “Anniversary” that is most touching in its thoughts of Percy’s last moments aboard the Don Juan before it capsizes, and he is drowned. “The Last Voyage” is an allegory to this event, only the three companions¹ do not die. Yet:

“Yet tonight, the three companions had been spared. Their years would stretch out into an infinity of graceful moments, until someday they would come face-to-face once more with that dreadful storm and be undone by it- that ragged storm of fate and chance that shall wash away us all.”

Dreams of the Romantics was a beautiful read. Turner’s use of language reflects the period, and I read through the book several times, picking up on different metaphors from the lives of all those in attendance at Lord Byron’s dinner party. I also found it educational, as I had only a passing knowledge of the Shelleys, little of Byron and none of Doctor John Polidori. Invariably, I was sent scrambling to the Internet for answers to my questions, as well as the biographies of the participants.

I certainly anticipate hearing more from the pen of M.G. Turner, as Dreams of the Romantics certainly demonstrated his potential as a writer.

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About the Author

M. G. Turner has been writing fiction since childhood and has begun publishing stories under what he has termed "contemporary gothic," content which both hearkens to the past but looks to the future for answers to our most pressing questions, be they environmental or spiritual. In addition to being a fiction writer, M. G. Turner is a professional editor and literary agent and has helped develop numerous projects which are now published books. He lives in New York City.

Book Details

• The 96-page trade paperback sells for $15 + $5 shipping. If you want to buy a copy, please contact us at ptbookproductions[@]gmail[.]com, and we will give you electronic payment information or our address. (Also available online at Amazon)

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8-34-744714-5

1. Percy Bysshe Shelley, Edward Williams, and the boat boy were lost in a storm.