Mary Shelley (1797-1851) was born into intellectual royalty as the daughter of feminist philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft and political philosopher William Godwin. Her entry into the world was marked by tragedy—her mother died of childbed fever just days after her birth. Raised in her father’s household of radical thinkers and writers, young Mary received an unconventional education, absorbing revolutionary ideas about politics, science, and women’s rights. At sixteen, she scandalized society by eloping with the married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, beginning a relationship that would both nurture her intellectual development and bring her deep sorrow.

Though best known for creating Frankenstein at just eighteen years old, Shelley’s literary output extended far beyond her debut. Despite facing devastating personal losses—including the deaths of three of her four children and her husband’s drowning—she persevered as a writer, producing novels, short stories, travelogues, and biographies. Like her mother, she challenged the social and scientific conventions of her day, exploring themes of creation, responsibility, and the human condition. Through her work, particularly Frankenstein, she pioneered new forms of literature and established herself as one of the most significant voices of the Romantic era, leaving a legacy that continues to influence literature, science fiction, and cultural discourse about technology and humanity.