(Image by Richard Rothwell from Wikipedia Commons)
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was an English novelist, feminist and radical whose best known work is the novel “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus”, an early example of science fiction. She started writing the story at age 18. At age 20, it was anonymously published because Mary feared that her children would be taken away from her, due to the nature of the story. Women did not write about murder and horror. Later printings did carry her name. Mary also edited and promoted the works of her husband, Percy Shelley.
Mary’s mother died when she was an infant. Her father provided a richly diverse education that embraced his anarchical theories. At 16, she began a romance with Percy Shelley, who was already married, and they took off for Switzerland with Mary’s step sister Claire. It was here that late night German ghost stories around the fire likely inspired her novel.
She returned pregnant, but the child only lived two months. The couple lived inconstant debt, and Percy would disappear for periods to avoid creditors. When Percy’s wife committed suicide, the two married. Fear of debtor’s prison contributed to them taking off for Italy, where the Shelley’s second and third children died before she gave birth to a fourth and only surviving child. Percy drowned in a sailing accident when Mary was 22, and she devoted her life to writing and raising her son. Future printings of Frankenstein carried her name.
Mary wrote other works while in Italy, although not all were initially published. Matilda deals with a father’s incestuous love of his daughter. Valperga is a historical novel set in post-Napoleonic Europe. She also wrote two plays, Proserpine and Midas. Mary was often physically ill and prone to depression.
Mary returned to England, where debt and difficulty continued. She wrote novels, short stories and magazine articles to make a living while also supporting her father. Her deceased husband’s poetry gained favor, and provided additional income that let her support other women who suffered from not living up to societal norms. When her grandfather passed away in 1844, her inheritance provided financial independence, but Mary was suffering from headaches and bouts of paralysis that kept her from writing. She passed at age 53 from a brain tumor.
Mary led a turbulent life. Some elements were brought on by the lifestyles of she and Percy, some by their disdain for social norms, and some by poor judgment. Through it all, she held firm to her creativity, and to helping other women who were being ostracized for simply being themselves.