Romanticism / Early VictorianBritish
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Pioneer of Gothic Speculative Fiction
August 30, 1797, London – February 1, 1851, Chester Square
The daughter of pioneering feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin, Mary Shelley was raised in a crucible of radical intellectual ferment. In the rainy summer of 1816 at Villa Diodati alongside Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, she conceived Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Shelley’s masterwork transcends monster folklore, exploring the ethical perils of unchecked science, parental abandonment, and the agony of alienation.
Thematic Domain & Philosophy
Promethean AmbitionIsolation & MonstrosityNature vs CreationTechnological Ethics
Memorable Aphorisms
“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
— Frankenstein“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”
— FrankensteinBibliography
Archived Volumes by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Gothic Horror
4.88
240m
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils...