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Early beginnings -

Mary Shelley was born as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin on August 30, 1797, in Somers Town, London.

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Her mother was a feminist writer -

Her mother was Mary Wollstonecraft, a writer, feminist philosopher, and women's rights advocate, who famously wrote 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.'

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Her father was an intellectual -

Mary Shelley's father was William Godwin, a political philosopher and novelist.

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Mary’s mother died less than two weeks after giving birth to her -

Shelley was raised by her father, who provided her with a rich education, encouraging her to adhere to his own anarchist political theories.

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A troubled relationship -

William Godwin remarried when Mary was four years old. He married their neighbor, Mary Jane Clairmont. However, the stepmother and stepchild would have a troubled relationship.

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Her childhood home hosted some notable guests -

Shelley's parents welcomed many notable artists, scientists, and politicians into their home. Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, former US Vice President Aaron Burr (pictured), and Charles Darwin's grandfather Erasmus Darwin are a few of those guests.

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She eloped with Percy Bysshe Shelley -

In 1814, while still a teenager, Mary began a romance with Percy Bysshe Shelley, a poet who was one of her father's political followers. He was already married with a child.

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She came back to England pregnant -

Along with her stepsister Claire, Mary, and Percy left for France in 1814 and traveled around Europe. Upon their return to England, Mary was pregnant with Percy's child.

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A rocky start -

Over the next two years, she and Percy were ostracized and faced constant debt, along with the death of their prematurely born daughter. They married in late 1816, after the suicide of his first wife, Harriet.

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They remained together until his death -

Despite the many difficulties throughout their relationship, they remained together until Percy's death in 1822. He died in a boating accident at the age of 29.

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Her father disapproved of her relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley -

William Godwin disapproved of his daughter's relationship with Shelley, partly because he was still married to his first wife when they met. This caused a strain on his relationship with Mary, but they eventually reconciled.

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Just one of her children survived her -

The first child Mary had with Percy, a daughter, died within weeks of her birth. Her two later children, William and Clara, died when they were toddlers. Percy Florence (pictured) was the fourth child of Percy and Mary Shelley, and the only one who survived into adulthood.

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She suffered many personal tragedies -

Shelley's life was marked by personal tragedy. From her mother, to three of her children, and then her husband, she also suffered the deaths of several close friends.

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She was friends with other famous writers -

Shelley was friends with several other famous writers of her time, including Lord Byron, John William Polidori, and John Keats (pictured).

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'Frankenstein' originated from a challenge -

Mary was close with Lord Byron, and it was he who challenged the assembled company one night by Lake Geneva, during her 1814 European travels with Percy, to each write a ghost story. Mary won the challenge, with what eventually became her novel 'Frankenstein.'

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Her most famous work is 'Frankenstein' -

Shelley wrote 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus' when she was only 18 years old. The novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a creature from dead body parts, who exacts vengeance on his maker.

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A classic -

'Frankenstein' is now considered a classic and has had a lasting impact on popular culture.

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She found inspiration for 'Frankenstein' in a waking dream -

After struggling to think of something to write about, Shelley claimed that the story struck her as she was trying to sleep.

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The seed of 'Frankenstein' -

In the introduction to the 1831 edition of her novel, Shelley wrote: "I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion. Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world."

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She was a prolific writer -

In addition to 'Frankenstein,' Mary Shelley wrote several other novels, including 'Valperga,' 'The Last Man,' and 'Lodore.' She also wrote numerous short stories, essays, and poems.

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People credited her husband for 'Frankenstein' -

'Frankenstein' was first published anonymously with a preface by Percy Shelley, leading many to believe that he was the true author.

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The assumption persisted -

Even when new editions were released under Mary Shelley's actual name several years later, this assumption persisted.

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She edited and published her husband’s work after his death -

After Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned in 1822, Mary edited and published several volumes of his work. She also wrote his biography, 'The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley,' which is still considered one of the most important works of Shelley scholarship.

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Her husband's heart -

When her husband's body was cremated, an organ that was believed by some to be his heart refused to burn. Experts today suspect that it had calcified during an earlier case of tuberculosis.

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An unusual keepsake -

Mary ended up with the organ, which she carried around as a keepsake. Following her death in 1851, the heart was discovered in her desk wrapped in the pages of Percy Shelley's poem 'Adonais.'

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She was interested in science -

Shelley was fascinated by science, particularly the work of scientists like Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta. This is evident in 'Frankenstein,' which explores the consequences of playing God through scientific experimentation.

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She wrote throughout her life -

Despite her many personal challenges, she continued to write throughout her life, including genre fiction for The London Magazine.

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Final years and death -

From 1839, Mary Shelley suffered from headaches and bouts of paralysis in parts of her body, which sometimes prevented her from reading and writing. On February 1, 1851, she died at the age of 53 from what her physician suspected was a brain tumor.

Sources: (History Hit) (Mental Floss) 

See also: The best female authors of all time

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