Mary Shelley

Also known as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Mary Godwin

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin and her mother was the philosopher and women's rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft.

OverviewAI-generated

Mary Shelley (born Mary Godwin) was a British novelist, essayist, playwright, and travel writer. She was the daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft and the spouse of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her notable works include the Gothic novel *Frankenstein* and *The Last Man*. She also wrote *The fortunes of Perkin Warbeck* and *Falkner*.

Shelley was born in Somers Town on 30 August 1797 and died in Chester Square, Bournemouth, on 1 February 1851. She resided in London and is archived at the British Library. Her works span genres such as travel books, Gothic literature, and speculative fiction. She received the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame award.

Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, Open Library. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: 30 August 1797
Died: 1 February 1851
Works: 694

Top works

Sydney Hideous
The Last Man
Frankenstein, or The modern prometheus
Frankenstein (The Gothic Chronicles Collection)
Frankenstein

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Mary
Gender: female
Citizenship: United Kingdom
Place of birth: Somers Town
Place of death: Bournemouth
Spouse: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Father: William Godwin
Mother: Mary Wollstonecraft
Languages spoken: English language
Native language: English language
Award: Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame
Notable work: Frankenstein
Field of work: fiction
Genre: speculative fiction
Image: Richard Rothwell (1800-1868) - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - NPG 1235 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg
Residence: London

Show 16 more facts

Commons category: Mary Shelley
date of birth: 1797-08-30
date of death: 1851-02-01
topic's main category: Category:Mary Shelley
birth name: Mary Godwin
Commons gallery: Mary Shelley
archives at: British Library
Commons Creator page: Mary Shelley
name in native language: Mary Shelley
writing language: English language
different from: Mary Wollstonecraft
P8168: Adrienne Monnier
P12749: Johann Flierl
cause of death: brain tumor
manner of death: natural causes
contributor to the creative work or subject: Weird Tales

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Encyclopedic overview

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (née Godwin; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin and her mother was the philosopher and women's rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft.

Mary's mother died 11 days after giving birth to her. She was raised by her father, who provided her with a rich informal education, encouraging her to adhere to his own anarchist political theories. When she was four, her father married a neighbour, Mary Jane Clairmont, with whom Mary had a troubled relationship.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mary Shelley” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.