Mary Shelley
Born in Kings Cross, LondonBorn on 30th of August 1797
Died in Bournemouth, Dorset
Died on 1st of February 1851
Quotes from Mary Shelley
'My dreams were all my own; I a'... More
The author of Frankenstein wrote what is considered by some the first sci-fi novel, a prophetic allegory of the dangers of science. Mary Shelley was only 21 when her book was published and many people could not believe a young woman had written such a frightening tale.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was as born in London on August 30, 1797. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, had been a prominent feminist but died only ten days after bearing her daughter. Mary was brought up by her father William Godwin, himself a leading radical. Her father’s circle of friends included Charles Lamb, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Percy Bysshe Shelley and it was with Shelley that the 15-year-old Mary Godwin became romantically involved. In spite of Shelley already being married the two spent the summer of 1814 travelling together and in February 1815 Mary Shelley gave birth to a baby girl who died twelve days later. It has been conjectured that this tragedy may have been a source of her most famous novel Frankenstein. What is certain is that in the summer of 1816 Mary and Percy were staying with Lord Byron at his lodge on Lake Geneva when Byron challenged them and his other guests each to write a ghost story. Mary’s effort became Frankenstein, perhaps the most celebrated tale of gothic horror.
In the two years it took Mary to complete her book she married Percy and gave birth to another daughter, Clara, who tragically also died after just one year of life. Frankenstein was published to great acclaim in 1818 and the Shelleys moved to Italy. Here tragedy continued to haunt them with the death of her son William. Then in 1822 Percy Shelley was drowned in the Gulf of Spezia off the Italian coast. Mary returned to England with her only surviving son, devoting herself to his education and welfare. She continued to write, producing several excellent novels and numerous short stories for magazines. Mary Shelley died on February 1, 1851 at Chester Square in London. She was 54 years old.
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Links:
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/mshelley.htm Biography site
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