Biography of Mary Shelly
Daughter of Mary Wollenstonecraft, and William Godwin
Accomplished Parents
Mary Shelly was born one Mary Wollenstonecraft Godwin during the year 1797, the daughter of the feminist author Mary Wollenstonecraft, and the radical dissenter William Godwin (Drabble & Stringer, 2007 p. 648).
Mary Shelly never knew her mother as Mary Wollenstonecraft died soon after giving birth to her. Mary Shelly did inherit her mother's literal talents, if not her father's radical political beliefs (Drabble & Stringer, 2007 p. 648). William Godwin himself had written political works that were well received in the most radical sections of British society (Crystal, 1998 p.854).
Given her parentage it was not really a surprise that the young Mary Shelly wanted to be a writer as well as associating with writers including her future husband, Percy Shelly, and Lord Byron (Crystal, 1998 p.854). Mary Shelly married Percy Bysshe Shelly soon after the death of his first wife. Mary Shelly then joined her husband in his self-imposed exile in Italy (Crystal, 1998 p.854).
Marriage And Life Abroad
Percy Shelly felt that his work did not receive enough critical praise in Great Britain. He was also keen to avoid his work being censored by the British government (Drabble & Stringer, 2007 p. 648).
Mary Shelly made her name as a writer in her own right with the publication of Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus during the year 1818, which was always the year that her husband went into his Italian exile. Although the couple had been living abroad for four years already (Drabble & Stringer, 2007 p. 648).
Percy and Mary Shelly lived in Italy until 1822 when Percy drowned in a tragic boating accident. Percy Shelly had been sailing in his boat to meet some friends when a sudden storm sank his boat (Crystal, 1998 p.854).
Frankenstein And Other Work
In many respects the book Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus was the best example of a gothic novel, and firmly established the reputation of Mary Shelly as a writer. Her follow up novels, poems, and short stories further enhanced her literary reputation (Drabble & Stringer, 2007 p. 648).
Frankenstein was Mary Shelly most famous book by far, but it was not her only published novel. Other novels written by Mary Shelly include Rambles in Germany and Italy, The Keepsake, as well as Valperga (Drabble & Stringer, 2007 p. 648).
In her later years Mary Shelly wrote and published highly popular travel journals for many parts of Europe including Germany as well as Italy (Drabble & Stringer, 2007 p. 648).
To conclude Mary Shelly was a very accomplished writer in her own right, whilst her novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus was more popular than any of the works of Percy Shelly had been.
Bibliography
Crystal D (1998) Chambers’ Biographical Encyclopedia, 2nd edition, Edinburgh, and New York
Drabble M & Stringer J, (2007) Oxford Concise Companion to English Literature, Third Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, and Cambridge, USA
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