Comprehensive Summary of
Frankenstein and Biography of Mary
Shelley
Biography of Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley, born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin on August 30, 1797, in London, England, was a
novelist, essayist, and short story writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The
Modern Prometheus (1818). Her life was marked by intellectual vibrancy, personal tragedy, and
unconventional relationships, shaped by her remarkable lineage and tumultuous circumstances.
Early Life and Relation to Parents
Mary was the daughter of two prominent intellectuals: Mary Wollstonecraft, a pioneering feminist
and author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), and William Godwin, a radical
philosopher and novelist. Tragically, Mary Wollstonecraft died just eleven days after giving birth to
Mary due to puerperal fever, leaving Godwin to raise Mary and her half-sister, Fanny Imlay, alone.
Mary grew up in a household steeped in intellectual discourse, surrounded by her father’s literary
and philosophical circle, including poets and thinkers like Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William
Hazlitt. However, her relationship with Godwin was strained after he remarried Mary Jane Clairmont
in 1801, as Mary clashed with her stepmother, who brought her own children, including Claire
Clairmont, into the family.
Mary’s upbringing was unconventional, with access to her father’s extensive library and
encouragement to pursue self-education. She absorbed her parents’ radical ideas, including
Wollstonecraft’s advocacy for women’s rights and Godwin’s critiques of societal structures, which
later influenced the themes of ambition, responsibility, and creation in Frankenstein.
Relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley
At age 16, Mary met Percy Bysshe Shelley, a Romantic poet and one of Godwin’s admirers. Despite
Percy being married to Harriet Westbrook, he and Mary began a romantic relationship in 1814. Their
bond was intellectual and passionate, rooted in shared literary interests and radical ideals. The
couple eloped to Europe, accompanied by Claire Clairmont, causing a scandal and estranging Mary
from Godwin, who disapproved despite his own progressive views. The elopement was fraught with
hardship, including financial struggles and the death of their first child, a premature daughter, in
1815.
In 1816, Mary, Percy, their newborn son William, and Claire spent the summer in Geneva with Lord
Byron and John Polidori. During a stormy night, Byron proposed a ghost story competition, inspiring
Mary to conceive Frankenstein. The novel was published in 1818, when she was just 20, under
anonymous authorship, though Percy contributed to its preface and editing.
Mary’s life with Percy was both creatively fruitful and tragic. They married in 1816 after Harriet’s
suicide, but their life together was marred by the deaths of three of their four children and persistent
financial difficulties. In 1822, Percy drowned in a boating accident off the Italian coast, leaving Mary a
widow at 24. Devastated, she dedicated herself to preserving Percy’s literary legacy, editing and
publishing his works, and raising their surviving son, Percy Florence Shelley.
Later Life and Legacy
After Percy’s death, Mary returned to England, where she continued writing novels (The Last Man,
1826; Lodore, 1835), short stories, and essays to support herself and her son. She faced social
ostracism as a single mother and struggled financially but remained committed to her craft. Mary
never remarried, though she formed close friendships, including with writer Washington Irving. She
died on February 1, 1851, at age 53, likely from a brain tumor.
Frankenstein and Biography of Mary
Shelley
Biography of Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley, born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin on August 30, 1797, in London, England, was a
novelist, essayist, and short story writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The
Modern Prometheus (1818). Her life was marked by intellectual vibrancy, personal tragedy, and
unconventional relationships, shaped by her remarkable lineage and tumultuous circumstances.
Early Life and Relation to Parents
Mary was the daughter of two prominent intellectuals: Mary Wollstonecraft, a pioneering feminist
and author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), and William Godwin, a radical
philosopher and novelist. Tragically, Mary Wollstonecraft died just eleven days after giving birth to
Mary due to puerperal fever, leaving Godwin to raise Mary and her half-sister, Fanny Imlay, alone.
Mary grew up in a household steeped in intellectual discourse, surrounded by her father’s literary
and philosophical circle, including poets and thinkers like Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William
Hazlitt. However, her relationship with Godwin was strained after he remarried Mary Jane Clairmont
in 1801, as Mary clashed with her stepmother, who brought her own children, including Claire
Clairmont, into the family.
Mary’s upbringing was unconventional, with access to her father’s extensive library and
encouragement to pursue self-education. She absorbed her parents’ radical ideas, including
Wollstonecraft’s advocacy for women’s rights and Godwin’s critiques of societal structures, which
later influenced the themes of ambition, responsibility, and creation in Frankenstein.
Relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley
At age 16, Mary met Percy Bysshe Shelley, a Romantic poet and one of Godwin’s admirers. Despite
Percy being married to Harriet Westbrook, he and Mary began a romantic relationship in 1814. Their
bond was intellectual and passionate, rooted in shared literary interests and radical ideals. The
couple eloped to Europe, accompanied by Claire Clairmont, causing a scandal and estranging Mary
from Godwin, who disapproved despite his own progressive views. The elopement was fraught with
hardship, including financial struggles and the death of their first child, a premature daughter, in
1815.
In 1816, Mary, Percy, their newborn son William, and Claire spent the summer in Geneva with Lord
Byron and John Polidori. During a stormy night, Byron proposed a ghost story competition, inspiring
Mary to conceive Frankenstein. The novel was published in 1818, when she was just 20, under
anonymous authorship, though Percy contributed to its preface and editing.
Mary’s life with Percy was both creatively fruitful and tragic. They married in 1816 after Harriet’s
suicide, but their life together was marred by the deaths of three of their four children and persistent
financial difficulties. In 1822, Percy drowned in a boating accident off the Italian coast, leaving Mary a
widow at 24. Devastated, she dedicated herself to preserving Percy’s literary legacy, editing and
publishing his works, and raising their surviving son, Percy Florence Shelley.
Later Life and Legacy
After Percy’s death, Mary returned to England, where she continued writing novels (The Last Man,
1826; Lodore, 1835), short stories, and essays to support herself and her son. She faced social
ostracism as a single mother and struggled financially but remained committed to her craft. Mary
never remarried, though she formed close friendships, including with writer Washington Irving. She
died on February 1, 1851, at age 53, likely from a brain tumor.
