Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley was an English Romantic novelist best known for writing *Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus* (1818, revised 1831), a foundational work of Gothic horror and an early science-fiction novel.

Mary Shelley was an English Romantic novelist best known for writing *Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus*, a foundational work of Gothic horror and an early science-fiction novel. Born in London in 1797, she was the daughter of writers William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. She later became a prolific author, editor, and biographer.

Early life

Mary Shelley was born in London in 1797 to William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. Her mother died soon after her birth, and Shelley grew up in an intellectually active environment shaped by her father’s library and radical political circle.

*Frankenstein*

Shelley conceived *Frankenstein* as a teenager, and it was first published anonymously in 1818. The novel follows Victor Frankenstein and the being he creates, and it later became one of the most influential works in Gothic literature and early science fiction.

Later writing career

After *Frankenstein*, Shelley continued to publish fiction and nonfiction. Her later works included *The Last Man*, a dystopian novel, as well as travel writing, biographies, and editions of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s work.

Personal life and later years

Mary Shelley eloped with Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1814 and married him in 1816. After his death in 1822, she returned to England and continued writing until her death in 1851.