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Mary Shelley was born on August 30, 1797, in London, England. She was the second child of the feminist philosopher, educator, and writer Mary Wollstonecraft, and the first child of the philosopher, novelist, and journalist William Godwin. When Mary was four, her mother died of puerperal fever. Godwin married again, to Mary Jane Clairmont; together, they had another four children.
Shelley was educated mainly at home by her father and by tutors. When she was sixteen, she met the twenty-one-year-old poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who became her lover. In 1814, they eloped to France, where they spent several happy months in an intense intellectual and emotional relationship.
In 1816, the couple returned to England, where they settled in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Their first child, a daughter, died shortly after birth. In 1818, they had a son, Percy Florence.
During these years, Mary Shelley wrote several novels, including Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818), which was published anonymously. She also wrote short stories, essays, and travel books.
In 1822, Percy Shelley drowned when his boat capsized in a storm on the Gulf of Spezia. Mary Shelley returned to England with her son. She continued to write and publish, but she was plagued by grief and ill health for the rest of her life. She died on February 1, 1851, in London.
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is a timeless classic that has been enjoyed by readers for centuries. It is a story that is both thought-provoking and entertaining, and it is clear that Shelley was a very talented writer. Her ability to create such a compelling and believable story is truly remarkable, and it is no wonder that Frankenstein is still so popular today.
