After nearly 200 years the world in general and the literary
world in particular are still slightly surprised that a woman
of only eighteen managed to write a rich and mature novel like
Frankenstein. But Mary was no ordinary girl. Being the daughter
of the radical and still famous Mary Wollstonecraft (who died
soon after her birth) and the often-nearly-forgotten philosopher
William Godwin (illustrious author of "Caleb Williams") she
was always surrounded by people from literary circles and finally
eloped with one of them, the strange but talented Percy Bysshe
Shelley.
In Italy she wrote her "Frankenstein or The
Modern Prometheus", finishing it on April 17, 1817. Her father
read the book in November of that year and he was highly impressed,
which was certainly against his habit when it came to books.
Frankenstein was published on March 11, 1818 without revealing
the name of its author and soon became a success. After Shelley's
death in 1822 Mary stayed for a while in Italy in the neighbourhood
of Lord Byron, before returning to England in 1823. There she
raised their only surviving son Percy Florence and wrote poems
(like "The Choice"), books and essays. "The Last Man" (1826)
is a frightening account of a new plague eating away mankind.
Mary
never remarried. John Howard Payne had a crush on her after
her return to England and she fancied the American Washington,
who met her several times and visited her and her father, but
didn't return her affections.
Mary died in 1851 and
was buried at St. Peter's Churchyard, Bournemouth, Dorset. The
remains of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft were brought
over from Old St. Pancras Churchyard, London and rest in the
same grave.
Works: "Frankenstein; Or The Modern Prometheus"
(1818); "Valperga" (1823); "The Last Man" (1826); "The Fortunes
Of Perkin Warbeck" (1830); "Lodore" (1835); "Falkner" (1837).
Family
• Father: Godwin, William
• Mother: Wollstonecraft, Mary
• Husband: Shelley, Percy Bysshe
• Sister: Imlay, Fanny
Related persons
• met Ainsworth, William Harrison
• has a connection with Byron, George Noel Gordon
• is stepbrother/stepsister of Clairmont, Claire
• met Constant, Benjamin
• was a friend of Curran, Amelia
• has a connection with Gatteschi, Ferdinando Luigi
• has a connection with Gisborne, Maria
• was a friend of Goring, Augusta
• has a connection with Irving, Washington
• was a friend of Mavrocordato, Alexander
• has a connection with Mérimée, Prosper
• was a friend of Norton, Caroline Elizabeth Sarah
• knew Reveley, Henry Willey
• knew Rossetti, Gabriele Pasquale Giuseppe
• was a friend of St. John, Jane
• has a connection with Trelawny, Edward John
• met Westbrook, Harriet
• was a friend of Williams, Jane
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Events
1806/8/24: Coleridge recites "The Ancient Mariner" to William Godwin and his daughter Mary
Coleridge frequently visited Godwin and this Sunday he recited his own poem "The Ancient Mariner". It was an experience that the nine year old Mary Godwin would never forget.
1812/6/7: Mary Godwin leaves for Scotland to have a holiday
There was tension between her and her stepmother Mary Jane and Godwin arranged a long stay for her with an acquaintance in Dundee, the radical Dissenter Mr. William Baxter.
1812/11/10: Mary Godwin returns to London in the company of Christy Baxter
1812/11/11: Mary Godwin is in the same house as Shelley and Harriet
Shelley, his wife Harriet and Harriet's sister Eliza dined with the Godwins that night. But Mary was tired and she probably remained upstairs.
1814/3/30: Mary Godwin returns to London from her second visit to Scotland
She returned to her father William Godwin and her stepmother Mary Jane at 41 Skinner Street, London.
1814/5/5: Percy Bysshe Shelley meets Mary Godwin
Shelley dined with William Godwin at Skinner Street. After this meeting Shelley and Mary soon started to spend days together.
1814/6/26: Mary Godwin and Percy Bysshe Shelley declare each other their love
They did so at the tomb of Mary's mother Mary Wollstonecraft. When Mary's father William Godwin heard the news he strongly disagreed.
1814/7/0: Shelley takes laudanum after Mary refuses to see him
Shelley had written to his wife Harriet that he loved Mary Godwin. Harriet came to London and visited Godwin. Under pressure Mary promised to meet Shelley no more. But Shelley turned hysteric and he appeared with guns, laudanum and suicide threats. They managed to calm him down, but soon afterwards he took a huge dose of laudanum. Godwin hurried to his lodgings where he found Shelley and a docter. Shelley survived, but his friend Thomas Peacock hardly recognized him when he saw him.
1814/7/6: Shelley asks William Godwin for the hand of his daughter Mary
Shelley wanted to end his marriage to Harriet Westbrook and wanted to go abroad with Mary Godwin. William Godwin didn't approve at all.
1814/7/28: Shelley and Mary Godwin leave London to elope to France
They secretly left London in the company of Claire Clairmont. They left for Dover, crossed the Channel in an open boat and travelled to Paris.
1814/9/13: Shelley and Mary Godwin return to London
1814/9/27: Shelley and Mary move to 5 Church Terrace, Pancras, London
Claire Clairmont went with them.
1814/10/23: Shelley hides for his creditors
Between 23 Oct and 9 Nov he and Mary lived apart.
1814/11/14: Shelley introduces Mary to his friend Hogg
1815/1/1: T.J. Hogg declares his love to Mary Godwin, encouraged by P.B. Shelley
Mary accepted his affection, but she didn't answer it physically since she was pregnant from Shelley. Shelley was a strong advocate of free love and it is possible that he had sexual relations with her stepsister Claire at the time.
1815/1/10: Shelley and Mary move to 4 Hans Place, London
Claire Clairmont was once more in their company.
1815/3/2: Shelley and Mary move to Arabella Road, Pimlico, London
In their company were Claire Clairmont and Clara, Mary and Shelley's baby girl.
1815/3/6: Mary Godwin's stillborn daughter Clara dies
1816/1/24: William, the second child of Mary Godwin and Percy Bysshe Shelley, is born
1816/5/2: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin and Claire Clairmont leave London for Geneva
1816/5/17: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin and Claire Clairmont arrive in Geneva
Soon Lord Byron and his physician John Polidori would arrive there as well.
1816/6/16: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin, Claire Clairmont, Lord Byron and John Polidori tell each other ghost stories
They told each other stories all night and decided that each of them would write a ghost story. Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein" and John Polidori wrote "The Vampyre".
1816/6/21: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin and Claire Clairmont go to Chamonix
1816/7/29: Mary Godwin starts writing "Frankenstein"
1816/9/8: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin and Claire Clairmont return to England and arrive at Portsmouth
1816/12/29: Reconciliation between William Godwin and Mary Godwin
It was now clear that Percy Bysshe Shelley would marry Mary Godwin and Godwin no longer objected to their relationship.
1816/12/30: Percy Bysshe Shelley marries Mary Godwin
At St. Mildred's Church, London.
1817/3/18: Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley move to Albion House, Marlow
1817/5/14: Mary Shelley completes her novel "Frankenstein"
She asked Percy Bysshe Shelley to write an introduction and he did so.
1817/11/24: William Godwin finishes reading "Frankenstein"
The book was written by his daughter Maty and he was, against his habit, enthousiastic. One day later he wrote an introduction for his own book "Mandeville".
1818/3/11: Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Claire Clairmont leave for Italy
They crossed the Channel on the 12th.
1818/3/11: Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" appears in print
At the time Mary was only twenty years old.
1818/6/11: The Shelleys and Claire Clairmont move to the Casa Bertini in Bagna di Lucca
1818/6/14: Mary Shelley writes to Walter Scott
Scott had reviewd "Frankenstein" favourable but assumed that Percy Bysshe Shelley was the author. She thanked him and told him that she was the author.
1818/8/17: Shelley travels to Venice with Claire Clairmont
Claire wanted to visit het daughter Allegra who was with the fatherm Lord Byron. Mary Shelley stayed in Bagni di Lucca.
1818/8/31: Mary Shelley leaves Bagna di Lucca for Venice
Her husband had asked her in a letter to join him and Claire Clairmont there.
1818/9/24: Clara Shelley dies of dysentery
She was the third child of Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley and she had contracted the illness during a hurried journey to Este.
1818/11/5: The Shelleys travel to Rome
They would stay there until the end of November and then they moved on to Naples.
1819/2/27: Shelley registers a daughter, Elena, in Naples
The child was named Elena Adelaide. Shelley gave 27 Dec 1818 as her birthdate and himself and his wife Mary as her parents. It seems impossible that the child was Mary's. According to Mary's diary Claire Claimont was 'unwell' on 27 Dec. But there is no further evidence that Claire had been pregnant, so it's unlikely as well that Claire was the mother. The child was probably adopted by another family. Only in 1936 the existence of Elena was discovered by Newman Ivy White.
1819/3/0: The Shelleys return to Rome
1819/3/9: Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley visit the Pantheon in Rome
They went there again by moonlight.
1819/3/12: Mary shelley sees the Pope in Rome
In her diary she states that she went out to hear the mass. On March 11 she had been reading in the Bible and possibly this inspired her to listen to the mass.
1819/5/8: Percy Bysshe Shelley sits for a portrait by Amelia Curran
He posed on May 8th and 9th in Rome. The portrait was never finished. After Shelley's death Mary asked if she could have it. Amelia Curran answered from Paris that she had wanted to burn it because it was bad but that she hadn't done so. In May 1825 she sent the portrait to Mary from Rome.
1819/6/7: William Shelley dies from malaria
He was the second child of Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley. He was buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. On 10 Jun the Shelleys left Rome.
1819/6/10: The Shelleys and Claire Clairmont leave Rome for Leghorn
In Leghorn they wanted to visit the Gisbornes, who lived there.
1819/8/0: Mary Shelley starts writing "Mathilda"
She finished in in February, 1820 and sent the story to her father William Godwin in 1821. Godwin made no attempts to publish it amd it finally appeared in print in 1959.
1819/9/30: Mary Shelley meets Lady Mountcashel
1819/10/2: The Shelleys and Claire Clairmont move to Florence, 4395 via Valfonda
Claire left for Vienna on 10 Nov.
1819/11/5: Shelley and Mary travel to Rome
They would stay there until the end of November and then depart for Naples.
1819/11/12:
He was born in Florence.
1820/1/0: Shelley and Mary move to Casa Frasi, Pisa
1820/3/0: Shelley's lyrical drama "Cenci" is published and Mary Shelley starts "Catruccio, Prince de Lucca"
William Godwin later changed the name of his daughter's novel in "Valperga".
1820/6/15: The Shelleys return to Bagna di Lucca
1820/8/5: The Shelleys move to Casa Prinni, Bagni San Giuliano
1820/8/12: Mary Shelley and Claire Clairmont visit Castruccio's grave in Lucca
The grave was located at the San Francesco Church and was marked by two tablets. Mary's novel "Valperga" was about Castruccio.
1820/11/0: The Shelleys meet Emilia Viviani in Florence
She was the daughter of the governor of Pisa and she was locked up in a convent until her marriage. She was the inspiration for Shelley's "Epipsychidion".
1821/1/16: Jane and Edward Williams arrive in Pisa
They met the Shelleys on 19 Jan and the couples soon became friends.
1821/3/5: The Shelleys move to Casa Aulla, Pisa
1821/5/8: The Shelleys move to Bagni di San Giuliano
1821/7/0: The first translation of "Frankenstein" is published in Paris
1821/8/0: Mary Shelley finishes "Valperga"
1821/10/25: The Shelleys move to Tre Palazzi di Chiesa, Pisa
1821/12/16: Byron shoots a small twig in two from 14 feet distance
This was written in his diary by Edward Williams, who was a witness. Mary Shelley and Jane Williams were also there.
1822/1/14: Edward John Trelawny arrives in Pisa
He was a friend of the Williams family and he admired Lord Byron. He soon met the Shelleys.
1822/4/30: The Shelleys and Claire Clairmont move to Casa Magni, San Terenzo
The Williams family joined them one day later.
1822/6/16: Mary Shelley miscarries and almost dies herself
She thought she was dying from the hemorrhaging. Her own mother Mary Wollstonecraft had died after Mary's birth. Shelley saved her by putting her into a bucket of ice. When the doctor arrived the critical stage had already passed. Years later Mary wrote that she felt a passive kind of satisfaction at the time she thought she was dying and that the experience had removed her fear of death.
1822/6/22: Shelley is dreaming that he strangles his wife Mary
First he dreamed that Edgar and Jane Williams walked naked and rted with blood into his room and told him that the see was destroying their house. When he looked outside in his dream he saw himself strangling Mary. When he woke up he screamed and ran into Mary's room to see if she was still alive. She had almost died of a miscarriage a few days before and she was still weak.
1822/7/8: Percy Bysshe Shelley drowns in the Gulf of Spezia
He and Edward Williams were sailing back home to Mary Shelley and Jane Williams from Leghorn, where they had met Leigh Hunt and his family. Allthough a storm was rising they left in Shelley's small boat the Don Juan. Only ten days later their bodies were found on the beach.
1822/8/18: Trelawny burns Shelley's body on the beach
Shelley's body was found on the beach and buried there. It was not allowed to move it because of the risk of diseases. A huge metal furnace was brought to the beach and his remains were cremated. The ashes were taken to the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. Trelawny snatched Shelley's heart from the flames. Leigh Hunt wanted to keep it, but after some pression he gave it to Mary Shelley. Lord Byron couldn't stand it and swam back to his nearby ship before the burning of the corpse started.
1822/9/11: Mary Shelley leaves Pisa to tracel to Casa Negroto, Genoa
Jane Williams travelled with her and continued to London from Genoa.
1822/10/3: Lord Byron arrives in Genoa
He took up residence in Casa Saluzzo. At the time Mary Shelley also lived in Genoa.
1822/10/4: Leigh Hunt and his family join Mary Shelley in Genoa
1823/1/1: The second issue of The Liberal is published
This issue contained "Song, Written for an Indian Air" by P.B. Shelley and "A Tale of the Passions, or, the Death of Despina" by Mary Shelley.
1823/2/19: Mary Shelley's novel "Valperga" is published
1823/4/0: The third issue of The Liberal is published
It appeared around 23 Apr 1823 and it contained "Lines to a Critic" by P.B. Shelley and "Madame D'Houtetot" by Mary Shelley.
1823/7/0: Mary Shelley writes her poem "The Choice"
1823/7/25: Mary Shelley leaves Genoa to return to England
1823/7/27: William Godwin attends the theatre premiere of Frankenstein
The book "Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus" was written by his daughter Mary Shelley.
1823/7/30: The fourth issue of The Liberal is published
It contained an essay about Giovanni Villani written by Mary Shelley. It is possible that she had already written it in 1821.
1823/8/12: Mary Shelley arrives in Paris
She was on her way from Italy to England and she stayed in Paris until 30 Aug 1823.
1823/8/18: First performance of "Frankenstein; or, the Demon of Switzerland"
Henry M. Milner was the second playwright to adapt Mary Shelley's novel for the stage. It opened at the Royal Coburg Theatre and ran for eight performances.
1823/8/25: Mary Shelley arrives in London with her son Percy Florence
1823/8/29: Mary Shelley attends a theatre performance of "Frankenstein"
Her father william Godwin was also there. He had already witnessed the premiere on 27 Jul 1823. Jane Williams and William Godwin jr. also attended. The venue was the English Opera House Royal and the adaption was by Richard Brinsley Peake.
1823/9/8: Mary Shelley moves to 14 Speldhurst Street, Brunswick Square, London
1824/1/26: Mary shelley and William Godwin see Edmund Kean in Richard III
Mary was impressed by Kean's part and planned to write a tragedy herself. The venue was the New Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.
1824/1/31: Mary shelley and William Godwin sea Edmund Kean as Shylock
1824/5/15: Mary Shelley receives the news that Lord Byron has died in Greece
In her diary she wrote "Albè-the dear, capricious, fascinating Albè". The Shelleys had always called him Albè (for LB, Lord Byron). She forgot all her objections to him in the shock of the moment.
1824/6/0: Shelley's Posthumous Poems published by Mary Shelley
Sir Timothy Shelley stopped circulation by threatening to withdraw the allowance for her son Percy Florence.
1824/6/21: Mary Shelley moves to 5 Bartholomew Place, Kentish Town
She lived near Jane Williams now.
1824/7/9: Mary Shelley visits Lord Byron's corpse before the funeral takes place
1824/7/12: Lord Byron's funeral procession in London
A huge procession moved through London. A smaller procession moved to Hucknall, Nottinghamshire in four days. In the first coach were Colonel Leigh, Captain Byron, Hanson and Hobhouse. In the second coach were Burdett, Kinnaird, Bruce, Ellice, Stanhope and Travanion. In the thrid coach, among others, Moore, Rogers and Campbell. Mary Shelley saw the procession when it passed her house moving towards Highgate Hill. Caroline Lamb broke down once more when she saw the funeral processon of the former lover.
1825/2/26: Mary Shelley, Willam Godwin and Pietro Gamba see Edmund Kean as Othello
Jane Williams was also there. Gamba was in England to discuss the publication of his book "A Narrative of Lord Byron's Last Journey to Greece" with publisher Murray.
1826/1/23: Mary Shelley's "The Last Man" is published
It was published anonymously by the publisher Henry Colburn with the statement that it was written by the author of "Frankenstein". After her name was mentioned in reviews Sir Timothy withdrew the allowance of her son Percy. When it was pointed out to him that it wasn't Mary's fault and that she had to make a living he continued the allowance.
1827/6/2: Mary Shelley meets Thomas Moore
She had met him before.
1827/7/13: Mary Shelley finds out that her friend Jane Williams has betrayed her
Jane was Mary's best friend, but she spread malicious rumours about Mary behind her back. One of the things Jane said was that she had treated Shelley badly during his last year. Jane told this to Leigh Hunt and T.J. Hogg.
1827/8/0: Mary Shelley travels to Sompting, Arundel and Dieppe
The voyage took from August to October and her friend Isabel Robinson travelled with her.
1827/10/0: Marfy Shelley moves to 51 George Street, Portman Square
1827/11/4: Frances Trollope and Frances Wright leave for Nabosha
Nabosha was the commune of Frances Wright in America. Frances Trollope took three of her children (the future author Anthony wasn't among them) and the rest of the family should follow later. The French painter A.J.J. Hervieu (a friend of the Trollopes) also joined them on the ship and on this date they were waved goodbye by Mary Shelley. But Frances Trollope didn't like Nabosha and soon she left the commune.
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Sources
• Sunstein, Emily W., Mary Shelley, Romance and Reality, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1989
• Spark, Muriel, Mary Shelley, Constable, London, 1988
• Dunn, Jane, Moon in Eclipse, A Life of Mary Shelley, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1978
• Bernheim, Cathy, Mary Shelley, Qui êtes-vous?, La Manufacture, Lyon, 1988
• Grylls, R. Glynn, Mary Shelley, a Biography, Haskell House Publishers, New York, 1969
• Bennett, Betty Y. (ed.), The Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1983
• Feldman, Paula R. and Diana Scott-Kilvert, The Journals of Mary Shelley, 1814-1844, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1987
• Mellor, Anne K., Mary Shelley, her Life, her Fiction, her Monsters, Routledge, New York, 1989
• Seymour, Miranda, Mary Shelley, John Murray, London, 2000
• St Clair, William, The Godwins and the Shelleys, Faber and Faber, London, 1990
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