Mary Shelley Biography*
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Mary Shelley experienced the kind of childhood that sounds like a dark fairy-tale. Her mother, an early feminist, died giving birth to her; she was brought up by a remote father (the philosopher William Godwin) and a stepmother who hated her. Her step-sister was a depressive, who would later commit suicide; and there were also a step-brother and a half-brother in the family. The young Mary escaped from her surroundings into reading, and would often read by the side of her mother's tomb.
In 1813, she met Percy Bysshe Shelley. He was only twenty-one years old, but was already married - and unhappy in his marriage. And it was already clear that he was destined to be one of the genuises of English poetry. The two fell in love and eloped, despite Mary's age. Godwin disowned her, but she and Shelley were married in 1816.
The Young couple decided to live abroad, and settled in Italy. Tragedy followed them: of their four children, only one lived very long. Then in 1822, just thirty, Shelley was drowned. Mary's life was effectively over: even though she lived for another thirty years, her flame never again burned as brightly as it had in the company of her brilliant husband and their friends such as the poet Lord Byron; and although she wrote more, the single book which is her legacy belonged to the time in Italy.
It was Byron who suggested, in 1817, that they each write a horror story of some kind. The result, in Mary's case, was Frankenstein. Her husband was working on a poem called 'Prometheus Unbound': perhaps this suggested the idea of updating the ancient tragedy of trying to transcend the limitations of being human. At any rate, apart from being creepier than most other books in the genre Frankenstein has a far better story-line, which is ultimately moving and tragic. A young girl of twenty had written a book whose name has become synonymous with horror.
*This Biography was taken from the 1984 Puffin Books Edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
In 1813, she met Percy Bysshe Shelley. He was only twenty-one years old, but was already married - and unhappy in his marriage. And it was already clear that he was destined to be one of the genuises of English poetry. The two fell in love and eloped, despite Mary's age. Godwin disowned her, but she and Shelley were married in 1816.
The Young couple decided to live abroad, and settled in Italy. Tragedy followed them: of their four children, only one lived very long. Then in 1822, just thirty, Shelley was drowned. Mary's life was effectively over: even though she lived for another thirty years, her flame never again burned as brightly as it had in the company of her brilliant husband and their friends such as the poet Lord Byron; and although she wrote more, the single book which is her legacy belonged to the time in Italy.
It was Byron who suggested, in 1817, that they each write a horror story of some kind. The result, in Mary's case, was Frankenstein. Her husband was working on a poem called 'Prometheus Unbound': perhaps this suggested the idea of updating the ancient tragedy of trying to transcend the limitations of being human. At any rate, apart from being creepier than most other books in the genre Frankenstein has a far better story-line, which is ultimately moving and tragic. A young girl of twenty had written a book whose name has become synonymous with horror.
*This Biography was taken from the 1984 Puffin Books Edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein