Author · 1797 to 1851

Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley was an English novelist. She began Frankenstein at 18 and saw it published at 20. Today it is often called one of the first works of science fiction.

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Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Life milestones

Born 1797
In London. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, died 11 days later.
Ran away at 16
In 1814 she left for France with the poet Percy Shelley.
Frankenstein at 18
A ghost story contest by Lake Geneva in 1816 sparked it.
Loss in Italy
Two children died, and Percy drowned in 1822.
Writer for life
Novels, travel books, and Percy's poems, edited by her.
Died 1851
In London, aged 53. Buried in Bournemouth.

Timeline

1797
Born in Somers Town, London, on 30 August. Her mother dies 11 days later.
1814
Leaves for France with Percy Bysshe Shelley on 28 July.
1816
Summer by Lake Geneva with Byron and Polidori. The ghost story contest begins Frankenstein. Marries Percy in late 1816.
1817
Finishes Frankenstein in the spring.
1818
Frankenstein is published without her name on 1 January. The family moves to Italy.
1822
Percy drowns when his boat sinks in a storm off Italy.
1823
Publishes the historical novel Valperga. The first stage play of Frankenstein opens in London.
1826
Publishes The Last Man, a novel about the end of humanity.
1831
A revised Frankenstein appears under her own name, with a new introduction about how it began.
1844
Publishes Rambles in Germany and Italy, her last full-length book.
1851
Dies in London on 1 February, aged 53.