Mary Shelley

Frankenstein

First published anonymously: many took Percy Shelley for the author.

💡 Did you know? Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstein” at just 18: it was first published anonymously.

the creator

The creature remains nameless: the mix-up is among the most common in literary history.

💡 Did you know? A common error: “Frankenstein” is the scientist Victor, not the creature, which remains nameless in the book.

science fiction

Science, not magic, creates the life and a parable of scientific responsibility besides.

💡 Did you know? Because the horror springs from science rather than magic, many regard “Frankenstein” as the first true science-fiction novel.

Lake Geneva

The 'year without a summer' after the Tambora eruption kept the company indoors: Byron proposed the ghost-story contest.

💡 Did you know? The “year without a summer” in 1816 (caused by the volcano Tambora) kept the guests indoors at the Villa Diodati.

Lord Byron

His physician Polidori wrote 'The Vampyre' there: the seed of all vampire stories down to Dracula.

💡 Did you know? Byron's contest produced not only “Frankenstein” but also the first modern vampire story.

18

The vision came to her in a waking dream: after conversations about galvanism and reanimating dead matter.

💡 Did you know? By her own account the idea came to her in a waking nightmare, from which the whole scene grew.

Mary Wollstonecraft

The author of 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman' died shortly after Mary's birth.

💡 Did you know? Mary Wollstonecraft wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” in 1792 but died eleven days after Mary's birth.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

He was married: the scandal cost Mary years of ostracism; they wed only after his first wife's death.

💡 Did you know? Percy was already married when they eloped: the scandal overshadowed the couple for years.

He drowned

The 24-year-old widow fought on as a professional writer and edited his works.

💡 Did you know? After the drowning, Mary Shelley is said to have kept Percy's heart: wrapped in a manuscript of his poetry.

The Last Man

A plague depopulates the earth in the 21st century: published in 1826 and long underrated.

💡 Did you know? “The Last Man” is set in the late 21st century and depicts a pandemic: long before modern apocalyptic fiction.

London

Three of her four children died young: her life was as dramatic as her books.

💡 Did you know? Mary Shelley outlived almost everyone close to her and died at 53 of a brain tumour in London.

Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley (1797 to 1851) was an English writer. Her novel “Frankenstein” (1818) is a classic of Gothic fiction and an early milestone of science fiction.

💡 Did you know? Mary Shelley was the daughter of two famous thinkers and the wife of a great English poet: yet she eclipsed them all in literary fame.