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Classic Authors: Mary Shelley

© Susan Jensen

On a dark, stormy night Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley sat in Lord Byron's Genevan villa with Byron, her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, and another writer. Although the men preferred to be out sailing, the weather drove them indoors. The gloom of the night inspired their conversation of science and the supernatural. Suddenly, Lord Byron exclaimed that they should each write a ghost story. Mary searched her mind, but could think of nothing. One night, however, a frightening vision plagued her. She penned the tale of a mad doctor and his horrifying creation, giving birth to one of the most well-known horror stories of all time. The publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein(1818) established her as a writer in her own right, instead of just a poet's wife. While nothing she wrote afterward equaled the popularity of Frankenstein, Mary carried on a modest writing career which made its own impact on the literary world.

Mary was born on August 30, 1797, in London, England. Her conception caused the marriage of her parents, William Goldwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, and her birth caused their separation. A week and a half after Mary entered the world, her mother died due to a placental infection. William now had sole charge of his newly-born daughter, a responsibility which encouraged him to find a second wife. In 1801, William Goldwin married Mrs. Clairmont, a widow with two children. Mrs. Clairmont raised Mary as well as her own children and the baby she had with William Goldwin. None of the children seems to have been close to their mother; Mary, especially, wanted nothing to do with her. She escaped as often as possible, enjoying long stays in Scotland.

Mary and the other children received no former schooling. However, their minds received plenty of stimulation from the philosophers and scholars who visited their father. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a frequent visitor, as was the young poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. By the time Mary returned from an extended visit to Scotland, Shelley had become an almost daily visitor to her father's home. Shelley, who was in the process of separating from his wife, became enchanted by Mary. The two began to meet secretly. Soon, their passion for one another was well-known, and the two eloped. They set off on a long "honeymoon," visiting Italy, France, Switzerland and Holland. The two delighted in each other. They spent hours reading and studying together.

Shelley and Mary loved each other dearly, but their relationship was beset by financial and family trouble. In the early days, Shelley hid from creditors, while begging his friends and family for money. William Goldwin refused to speak to either of them, Mary's half-sister committed suicide, and Shelley's ex-wife hounded him for money, and eventually killed herself as well. To add to it all, Mary, although constantly pregnant, could not produce a child. Still, she was happy with her husband, and used her literary studies to see her through the troubled times.

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