Mary Shelley – Biography
Full Name: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Born: August 30, 1797, London, England
Died:February 1, 1851, London, England
Famous WorkWo Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)
Occupation:Novelist, editor, biographer
Mary Shelley was an English novelist best known for writing Frankenstein, a groundbreaking Gothic novel often considered the first science fiction story. She was the daughter of two intellectual heavyweights: Mary Wollstonecraft, an early feminist thinker and author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, and William Godwin, a philosopher and political theorist.
Tragedy struck early in Mary’s life—her mother died shortly after childbirth. At 16, she eloped with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, whom she later married. In 1816, during a stay with Lord Byron in Geneva, Switzerland, Mary conceived the idea for Frankenstein during a storytelling challenge. She completed and published the novel at just 20 years old.
Throughout her life, Mary Shelley also wrote several other novels, short stories, travel writings, and biographies. After Percy Shelley’s death in 1822, she dedicated herself to preserving his poetic legacy while raising their only surviving child.
Mary Shelley died of a brain tumor in 1851 at age 53. Her work continues to influence literature, science fiction, and popular culture.
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