10 Intriguing Details About Mary Shelley

When 'Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus' first appeared in 1818, it left many readers shocked. The tale of a young scientist who brings life to a corpse assembled from various body parts was groundbreaking—and even today, some find it hard to believe that such a story was conceived by a teenage girl.

For those familiar with Mary Shelley’s life, her literary genius is no mystery. Surrounded by influential figures like her philosopher parents and her poet husband Percy Shelley, she was deeply immersed in intellectual and artistic circles. Her fascination with the macabre was evident early on, from her youthful visits to her mother’s grave to her later habit of keeping a preserved piece of her deceased lover. Dive deeper into the life of the woman who pioneered science fiction.

1. Mary Shelley’s mother was a trailblazing feminist author.

Mary Shelley wasn’t the only trailblazer in her family. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was a revolutionary writer, philosopher, and advocate who authored The Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. (Her father, William Godwin, was also a renowned political theorist.) Tragically, Wollstonecraft passed away from an infection shortly after Mary’s birth on August 30, 1797, but her legacy deeply shaped her daughter. In 1827, Mary wrote: “The memory of my mother has always been the pride and delight of my life.”

2. Her childhood home was a hub for distinguished visitors.

Born into a family of philosophers, Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin) enjoyed an unconventional and intellectually rich upbringing. Her father, William Godwin, moved in elite circles, hosting prominent figures like poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, former U.S. vice president Aaron Burr, and Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin. These encounters left a lasting impression on young Mary.

3. Shelley might have had her first intimate experience at her mother’s gravesite.

When Percy Bysshe Shelley met the young Mary Godwin, he was already married, but that didn’t deter their growing affection. They started meeting clandestinely and soon professed their love. Many experts believe the long-standing rumor that their relationship was consummated at Mary Wollstonecraft’s grave holds truth. The gravestone near St. Pancras Old Church, not far from the Godwin residence, was a place Mary often visited to write, read, and think. Her frequent trips there during Percy’s courtship make it plausible that she felt at ease sharing intimate moments with him at the site.

4. Only one of her children outlived her.

By the time Shelley conceived Frankenstein at 18, she had already experienced motherhood and loss. Her first child with Percy Shelley, a daughter, passed away just weeks after birth. In her journal, Shelley recounted a dream where her baby “came to life again—that it had only been cold & that we rubbed it by the fire & it lived.” She awoke to the harsh reality of her loss, a theme that would later resonate in her novel. Her next two children, William and Clara, also died in early childhood. Percy Florence, their fourth child, was the sole survivor into adulthood [PDF].

5. Her marriage to Percy was shadowed by whispers of scandal.

When Percy Shelley abandoned his family to be with Mary, he left behind his young child and pregnant wife, Harriet. Distraught over her husband’s infidelity, Harriet’s body was later found in the Serpentine, a lake in Hyde Park, London. Before her disappearance, she had written Percy a letter, expressing her despair and wishing him the happiness he had taken from her. Her death was declared a suicide, and Mary and Percy Shelley wed within a month.

The suspicious timing of Harriet’s death fueled speculation of foul play. If Harriet was murdered, William Godwin, Mary’s father, might have had a motive. He was deeply troubled by his daughter’s involvement with a married man and pressured the couple to legitimize their relationship quickly, despite his own critiques of marriage. While these rumors add a dark layer to Mary’s story, most scholars dismiss them, as there’s no evidence of murder, and Harriet had previously spoken of suicide.

6. The idea for Frankenstein was born from a ghost story competition.

The origin of Frankenstein is almost as legendary as the novel itself. During the summer of 1816, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Polidori gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, for what would become one of the most iconic literary retreats. With outdoor activities limited due to darkened skies caused by a volcanic eruption in Southeast Asia, the group turned to indoor entertainment. After reading a collection of eerie stories, they initiated a ghost story contest. That summer, Mary conceived the idea for Frankenstein, while Polidori penned The Vampyre, a precursor to Dracula and a cornerstone of vampire literature.

7. The inspiration for Frankenstein came to Shelley in a vivid waking dream.

Two centuries later, it’s clear that Mary Shelley won the ghost story competition, but her idea didn’t come easily. After wrestling with writer’s block, she claimed the story came to her in a vision as she drifted into sleep. In the 1831 edition’s introduction, she described how her “imagination, unbidden, possessed and guided me” [PDF].

“I saw the pale student of forbidden arts kneeling beside the creature he had assembled. I witnessed the grotesque form of a man lying motionless, then, activated by some powerful force, showing signs of life and stirring with an uneasy, half-living movement. It was terrifying; for truly horrifying is any human attempt to mimic the grand design of the world’s Creator.”

Shelley claimed this vision sparked the idea for her novel. Frankenstein was published two years later, in 1818.

While this story is captivating, some historians, like Jill Lepore, argue that Shelley fabricated it. In a 2018 The New Yorker article, Lepore suggested that Shelley’s account was her way of justifying how she, as a young woman, conceived such a “hideous idea.” By framing her creativity as a dreamlike revelation, Shelley may have been conforming to the literary norms of her time, which often minimized women’s intellectual contributions. This narrative continues to influence perceptions of her authorship today.

8. Many attributed Frankenstein to her husband.

Frankenstein was initially published anonymously, featuring a preface by Percy Shelley, which led many to believe he was the actual author. Even after subsequent editions credited Mary Shelley, skepticism lingered. Percy’s involvement—encouraging her to expand the story and editing portions—has been used to question her authorship. However, scholars argue this reflects a typical writer-editor collaboration, a common practice in publishing. While Mary Shelley benefited from her husband’s input, this doesn’t diminish her role as the creator. Historically, male authors rarely face such scrutiny over their authorship.

9. Her second most renowned work is a pandemic-themed apocalyptic novel.

Mary Shelley’s 1826 novel The Last Man delves into profound philosophical ideas through a sci-fi lens. Set in a dystopian future, the story depicts a 21st-century world ravaged by a deadly plague, pushing humanity to the edge of annihilation. Unlike Frankenstein, The Last Man was initially dismissed by critics, as apocalyptic narratives were already commonplace. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that the novel gained recognition. Among Shelley’s post-Frankenstein works—including Valperga, The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck, Lodore, and Falkner—The Last Man remains the most widely read and studied.

10. She preserved a peculiar memento from her deceased husband.

Mary Shelley’s handling of her late husband’s remains solidifies her status as the quintessential goth icon. When Percy Shelley tragically drowned in a boating accident in 1822 at 29, his body was cremated, but one organ—believed by some to be his heart—resisted burning. Modern experts suggest it had calcified due to a prior tuberculosis infection. Mary kept this seemingly indestructible relic, not for reanimation purposes, but as a personal memento. After her death from a brain tumor in 1851, the heart was found in her desk, carefully wrapped in the pages of Percy’s poem Adonais.