Mary Shelley's Extraordinary Life

Author of Frankenstein

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) was an English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer. Her life was as dramatic and unconventional as her most famous work, Frankenstein.

Early Life

•   Born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin on August 30, 1797, in London

•   Daughter of feminist philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft and political philosopher William Godwin

•   Mother died shortly after her birth, leaving her to be raised by her father

Education and Intellectual Environment

•   Received an unconventional but extensive education

•   Grew up in a household frequented by intellectuals, writers, and political radicals

Relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley

•   Met the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1814 at age 16

•   Eloped with Shelley to Europe in 1814, despite his existing marriage

•   Married Percy in 1816 after the suicide of his first wife

The Birth of Frankenstein

•   Conceived the idea for Frankenstein in 1816 during a stay at Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva

•   Published Frankenstein anonymously in 1818 at the age of 20

Tragedy and Perseverance

•   Lost three of her four children in early childhood

•   Percy Shelley drowned in 1822, leaving her a widow at 24

•   Returned to England and supported herself and her son through her writing

Later Life and Career

•   Continued to write and publish novels, short stories, and travelogues

•   Devoted herself to promoting her late husband’s poetry

•   Faced financial difficulties and ill health in her later years

Death and Legacy

•   Died on February 1, 1851, at the age of 53 from a suspected brain tumor

•   Recognized posthumously as a significant figure in Romanticism and an early pioneer of science fiction

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