Mary Shelley Page 9

Short biography of Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley (1797-1851) is best known for writing Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818), which has become one of the world’s most famous horror stories. She was born in London on 30 August 1797. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was the author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and a radical feminist, and she died just 10 days after Mary was born.Mary was brought up by her father, William Godwin, and her half-sister, Fanny Imlay. After attending a number of schools, she ran away to France with a married man, Percy Bysshe Shelley, in 1814 and married him the following year.They had four children, but only one survived to adulthood. The couple settled near Geneva, Switzerland, and in 1816 visited Lord Byron at the Villa Diodati at Lake Geneva, where they read ghost stories and talked about the idea of creating a ‘ghost story’.

Mary began writing Frankenstein the following year. The couple left for England in 1818 and Mary completed the novel there. It was published anonymously in 1818, but Mary’s name was soon attached to it, and it was an instant success. The couple were now famous, and they continued to travel and write.

Percy Bysshe Shelley died in 1822, aged just 29, and Mary returned to England with her son. She continued to write and publish, and in 1826 she married a widower, Sir Percy Florence Shelley, who was the son of her late husband’s friend, Sir Timothy Shelley.Mary died in 1851, aged 53.FrankensteinFrankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, is a novel about a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who creates a monster from dead body parts. The monster is intelligent and can speak, but he is ugly and feared by everyone who sees him.He turns on his creator and, after killing Frankenstein’s brother, his best friend and his wife, he pursues Frankenstein across the Arctic wastes, finally catching up with him and killing him.The novel was first published in 1818, but it has been reprinted many times and has been made into films, stage plays and television programmes. It is still one of the most famous horror stories ever written.

General Essay Structure for this Topic

1. Thesis statement: In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the characters of Victor Frankenstein and the Monster to explore the theme of human nature.
2. The Nature of Frankenstein’s Monster
3. The Nature of Victor Frankenstein
4. The Relationship Between Frankenstein and His Monster
5. The Theme of Human Nature in Frankenstein
6. The Significance of the novel’s title, Frankenstein
7. The literary techniques used by Shelley to explore the theme of human nature
8. The historical context in which Shelley wrote Frankenstein
9. The influence of Frankenstein on subsequent literature and popular culture
10. The continuing relevance of Frankenstein in the 21st century.

Important information

Spouse: Percy Bysshe Shelley (m. 1816–1822)

Place of burial: St Peter’s Church, Bournemouth, United Kingdom

Parents: Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin

Top stories: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s best-known book is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus ( 18 18, revised 183 1). She wrote several other novels, including Valperga ( 1823), The Last Man ( 1826), The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck ( 1830), Lodore ( 1835), and Falkner ( 1837), and a travel book, History of a Six Weeks’ Tour ( 1817).,

Books and plays: The Last Man 1826, The Original Frankenstein 1823, Mathilda 1959