Everyone knows one of the most famous novels is “Frankenstein”, or the “Modern Prometheus” (1818) by Mary Shelley,
but not too many know of her life and the rest of the novels that she has written. It’s time to look at one of the most famous authors that no one really knows the life of. There is much more than just Frankenstein.
Born on August 30, 1797, in London, English was the famous author Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Daughter of a political writer and philosopher, William Godwin and the feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Her mother was the author of The Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) which is a staple for feminism writing. She even had a half-sister named Fanny Imlay who was the daughter of an affair her mother had with a solider (Biography.com editors).
She never knew her mother because she died after her birth. Like many families who this happen to, the dynamics change. Her father marries Mary Jane Clairmont in 1801 and brings her two children into it. They have a son together soon after. However, Shelley never got along with her stepmother. Mainly because she didn’t want to educate her, only her stepsister (Biography.com editors).
Not having the proper education, she still had her father’s library in which she was always reading from. She found creative writing to be an outlet for her. Her first poem that was published was “Mounseer Nongtonpaw” in 1807 (Biography.com editors). She was only 10 at the time, and it was published by her father’s company the “Juvenile Library” (“Frankenstein” – Curran).
In 1812, she went to Scotland to stay with a friend of her fathers, William Baxter. She experienced peacefulness that she had never known before. She then returned the next year (Biography.com editors). She began a relationship with a poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. He was a devoted student of her father, but was then focused on her. He was married still when they both ran away together. Her stepsister Jane was with them and Shelley was then isolated from her father who didn’t speak to her for a while (Biography.com editors).
They traveled Europe, struggled financially, and lost their first child in 1815. It would have been a baby girl, but she only lived a few days. Soon, they went to Switzerland with a group of friends and entertained themselves with a book of ghost stories. Lord Bryon, who was in the group, suggested that they should write their own horror story. This is what was “Frankenstein” or the “Modern Prometheus” (Biography.com editors). And just like that, a major story was made.
“Frankenstein” is simply about a scientist’s life, Victor Frankenstein, and his quest for finding out the missing key of life and decides to give life to the dead. Essentially, this turns out to become a monster. It’s about family, Victor, and the creature (“Frankenstein”).
Throughout her years, she lost her sister, Fanny to suicide; Percy’s wife committed suicide; they wed in 1816; she published a travelogue; continued her work on “Frankenstein” and made it from an anonymous author. Many thought that Percy had written it. The novel was a major success and they moved to Italy (Biography.com editors).
Her marriage was not perfect though. Their children had died except for one, Percy Florence and her husband died in 1822 from drowning. She was 24; widowed. She wrote several other novels to keep them supported like, “Valperga” and “The Last Man” and tried to preserve her husband’s poetry. She died of brain cancer on February 1, 1851, at 53 years old in London, England. Her last legacy was obviously “Frankenstein” and has been made into many movies and spoofs (Biography.com editors).
References
Biography.com Editors. “Mary Shelley.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/mary-shelley-9481497#!
“Frankenstein.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes, 2012, www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/summary.html.
“Frankenstein.” Edited by Stuart Curran, Romantic Circles, Romantic Circles, 1 May 2009, www.rc.umd.edu/editions/frankenstein.
