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Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Born

in Somers Town, London, England

August 30, 1797

Died

February 01, 1851

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Influences

Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft, John Milton ...more

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Mary Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, often known as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley) was an English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, travel writer, and editor of the works of her husband, Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. She was the daughter of the political philosopher William Godwin and the writer, philosopher, and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.

Mary Shelley was taken seriously as a writer in her own lifetime, though reviewers often missed the political edge to her novels. After her death, however, she was chiefly remembered only as the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley and as the author of Frankenstein. It was not until 1989, when Emily Sunstein published her prizewinning biography Mary Shel Mary Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, often known as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley) was an English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, travel writer, and editor of the works of her husband, Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. She was the daughter of the political philosopher William Godwin and the writer, philosopher, and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.

Mary Shelley was taken seriously as a writer in her own lifetime, though reviewers often missed the political edge to her novels. After her death, however, she was chiefly remembered only as the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley and as the author of Frankenstein. It was not until 1989, when Emily Sunstein published her prizewinning biography Mary Shelley: Romance and Reality, that a full-length scholarly biography analyzing all of Shelley's letters, journals, and works within their historical context was published.

The well-meaning attempts of Mary Shelley's son and daughter-in-law to "Victorianise" her memory through the censoring of letters and biographical material contributed to a perception of Mary Shelley as a more conventional, less reformist figure than her works suggest. Her own timid omissions from Percy Shelley's works and her quiet avoidance of public controversy in the later years of her life added to this impression.

The eclipse of Mary Shelley's reputation as a novelist and biographer meant that, until the last thirty years, most of her works remained out of print, obstructing a larger view of her achievement. She was seen as a one-novel author, if that. In recent decades, however, the republication of almost all her writings has stimulated a new recognition of its value. Her voracious reading habits and intensive study, revealed in her journals and letters and reflected in her works, is now better appreciated. Shelley's recognition of herself as an author has also been recognized; after Percy's death, she wrote about her authorial ambitions: "I think that I can maintain myself, and there is something inspiriting in the idea". Scholars now consider Mary Shelley to be a major Romantic figure, significant for her literary achievement and her political voice as a woman and a liberal. ...more

Combine Editions
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s books

Average rating: 3.86 · 1,558,639 ratings · 60,256 reviews · 1,449 distinct works • Similar authors

	Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Charlotte Gordon (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.86 avg rating — 1,511,868 ratings — published 1818 — 17885 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Man 3.37 avg rating — 5,413 ratings — published 1826 — 2714 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mathilda 3.35 avg rating — 4,186 ratings — published 1959 — 1238 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Frankenstein / Dracula / Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson 4.28 avg rating — 2,867 ratings — published 1978 — 47 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Maciej Płaza (Translator), Lynd Ward (Illustrator) 4.07 avg rating — 1,694 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mortal Immortal: The Complete Supernatural Short Fiction of Mary Shelley 3.72 avg rating — 1,705 ratings — published 1831 — 418 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Transformation 3.52 avg rating — 903 ratings — published 1831 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kärleksprövningen by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Helena Hansson (Översättare) 3.22 avg rating — 329 ratings — published 1835 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Frankenstein: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Karen Swallow Prior 4.41 avg rating — 224 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Maurice, or, The Fisher's Cot: A Tale by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Claire Tomalin (Introduction) 3.57 avg rating — 267 ratings — published 1820 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley…

Series by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

الإنسان الأخير (3 books)
by

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley,

عبدالعزيز عواد العنزي (المترجم)

4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings

Lives of Eminent literary and scientific men of Italy, Spain, and Portugal (3 books)
by

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley,

John Taylor,

Edward Francis Finden

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings

Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of France (2 books)
by

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings

Science fiction, as a genre, has been on a roll since 1818, when Mary Shelley published her famous book Frankenstein, generally considered the...

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If you could bring any deceased author back from the dead to write some more books, who would it be? (Fill in your answers below).

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57 total votes

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