Mary Shelley: The Woman Who Created a Monster and Defined an Era

21 October 2025

Paul Francis

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Few writers have left a mark on culture as deep as Mary Shelley. Her name has become inseparable from one of literature’s most enduring creations: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Written before her twenty-first birthday, it changed not just Gothic fiction but the way we think about science, ambition and the boundaries of creation.

Portrait of Mary Shelley with dark hair, wearing an off-shoulder dress, set against a dark background. Her expression is calm and serene.

Yet Shelley’s legacy reaches far beyond her famous novel. She was a thinker shaped by revolution, love, loss and intellectual curiosity. Her life reads like a story of its own: a tale of genius, tragedy and quiet resilience in an age when women writers were rarely taken seriously.

A Legacy That Still Lives

More than two hundred years after Frankenstein was first published in 1818, its questions still feel modern. What does it mean to create life? When does progress become hubris? The story’s blend of science, morality and human emotion continues to inspire countless adaptations in film, theatre and art.

Shelley’s influence extends far beyond horror. Many scholars credit her as one of the founding figures of modern science fiction, a writer who understood that new technologies would not only change the world but challenge the human heart.

Her creation has become part of the collective imagination, but behind it stood a young woman navigating grief, love, scandal and the expectations of a society that never quite knew what to make of her.

Early Life: Born Into Ideas

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born in London in 1797 to remarkable parents. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was a pioneering feminist thinker and author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Her father, William Godwin, was a radical philosopher known for his ideas on justice and liberty.

Her mother died shortly after giving birth, leaving Mary to be raised by Godwin, who encouraged her education and allowed her access to his vast library. She grew up surrounded by the leading intellectuals of the day, absorbing ideas about politics, philosophy and art from an early age.

By the time she was a teenager, Mary was already drawn to writing. Her father’s home became a gathering place for poets and radicals, and it was there that she met the young Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Their meeting would alter both of their lives.

A Scandalous Romance and a Restless Mind

In 1814, when Mary was sixteen, she and Percy began a relationship that shocked London’s literary circles. He was already married, and their elopement to Europe caused a public scandal. They lived as outcasts for years, moving between England, France, Switzerland and Italy, always chasing inspiration and fleeing judgement.

The couple endured extraordinary hardship. Several of their children died in infancy, leaving Mary consumed by grief. Yet she continued to write, often in the margins of their turbulent lives. Her journals from this period show both her emotional depth and her growing intellectual independence.

The Birth of Frankenstein

A somber person with facial stitches and bolts in a dim lab with candles and a sparking machine, wearing a distressed black outfit.

The summer of 1816 would change everything. Staying at a villa near Lake Geneva with Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and others, the group found themselves trapped indoors by stormy weather. To pass the time, Byron proposed that everyone write a ghost story.

For days, Mary wrestled with ideas. One night, after a conversation about electricity and reanimation, she had a vivid waking dream of a scientist who created life and recoiled in horror at what he had made. That image became the seed of Frankenstein.

She began writing soon after, and by 1818, the novel was published anonymously in London. Many assumed the author was Percy Shelley. When Mary’s name was added to the second edition, readers were stunned to discover that one of the darkest and most profound novels of the age had been written by a young woman.

The book’s success was immediate, but controversial. Some praised its imagination and philosophical depth; others dismissed it as morbid. Over time, it would come to define an entire genre.

Life After Frankenstein

Tragedy continued to shape Mary’s life. Her half-sister and close friend both died by suicide, and in 1822, Percy Shelley drowned in a boating accident off the coast of Italy. Mary was twenty-four and left alone with their only surviving child, Percy Florence Shelley.

In the years after her husband’s death, she turned to writing both to support herself and to process her grief. Although Frankenstein remained her most famous work, she produced a series of thoughtful novels that explored love, loss, and resilience.

Her 1826 novel The Last Man imagined a future world devastated by plague and isolation. It was one of the earliest works of post-apocalyptic fiction, though it was not widely appreciated at the time. Critics found it bleak and strange, but modern readers see it as visionary.

Other novels, such as Lodore (1835) and Falkner (1837), examined family relationships, morality and the struggles of women in a society that constrained them. These works never achieved the fame of Frankenstein, but they showed Mary’s range as a writer and her commitment to moral and emotional truth.

She also wrote essays, short stories, and travel books such as Rambles in Germany and Italy (1844), which revealed her sharp observation and political awareness.

A Quiet Strength

Mary Shelley lived through loss that would have broken many. She buried her mother, children, husband and several close friends before reaching middle age. Yet she continued to write, edit and advocate for the preservation of her husband’s poetry.

She was respected but not wealthy, admired by some but underestimated by many. Victorian society still viewed her through the lens of Frankenstein and her association with Percy Shelley. She worked tirelessly to establish her own reputation, even as she battled poor health.

Illness and Final Years

In her later years, Mary suffered from severe headaches and episodes of paralysis, possibly caused by a brain tumour. These conditions made writing increasingly difficult. Despite this, she continued to correspond with friends and literary figures, and remained devoted to her son.

She died in London in 1851, aged fifty-three. Her son and daughter-in-law buried her in St Peter’s Church, Bournemouth, near the remains of her parents.

Among her belongings, they found a small parcel wrapped in silk containing her late husband’s heart.

The Enduring Influence of Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley’s life was extraordinary: part love story, part tragedy, part revolution in thought. She gave the world one of its most haunting stories, written at a time when women were rarely allowed to speak, let alone create monsters.

Her work bridged the Romantic and modern eras, asking what it means to be human in a world reshaped by science. More than two centuries later, Frankenstein still feels alive, a story that refuses to die, just like the creature she imagined on that stormy night by the lake.

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On January 19, 2025, TikTok, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, faces a potential ban in the United States. If enacted, the ban could impact over 170 million U.S. users who rely on the platform daily for entertainment, education, and business. This significant move stems from a 2024 law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest its U.S. operations. Failure to comply would result in TikTok being removed from app stores and blocked by internet service providers across the country.

TikTok: A Short History of Global Success

TikTok’s journey began in September 2016, when ByteDance launched the app as Douyin in China. Within a year, ByteDance released an international version, rebranding it as TikTok. The platform exploded in popularity after its 2018 merger with Musical.ly, a U.S.-based app that focused on lip-syncing videos. This move not only expanded TikTok's user base but also solidified its foothold in Western markets.

TikTok's algorithm, which curates personalized content for users based on their interests and interactions, became its defining feature. By 2024, TikTok had over 1.04 billion monthly active users worldwide, with U.S. users alone spending an average of 95 minutes per day on the app. This translates to nearly 24 hours a month of consistent engagement, with content spanning everything from viral dance challenges to educational tutorials.

The platform is not just a hub for creators; it has become an essential marketing tool for brands and a primary income source for influencers. Businesses of all sizes use TikTok to reach younger demographics, with Gen Z and millennials making up the majority of its user base.

The Court Case: Allegations of Spying and National Security Risks

The legal controversy surrounding TikTok stems from concerns that ByteDance could share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, an allegation TikTok and ByteDance have consistently denied. In April 2024, the U.S. government passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA). This legislation required ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban by January 19, 2025.

The Department of Justice has emphasized that the app poses a significant national security risk. They argue that the Chinese government could exploit TikTok’s access to U.S. user data for espionage purposes, despite ByteDance’s assertions that U.S. data is stored on servers outside of China.

ByteDance has countered with legal challenges, claiming that the law infringes on First Amendment rights and suppresses free speech. As the deadline looms, the Supreme Court is set to make a critical decision, balancing concerns about national security with the constitutional rights of millions of users and creators.

Potential Fallout for the Tech Industry

A TikTok ban could send ripples across the tech industry, especially for foreign-owned applications operating in the U.S. If TikTok is banned due to its ownership structure, other non-U.S.-based platforms could face heightened scrutiny. This could result in stricter regulations, potential bans, or even demands for foreign companies to establish U.S. subsidiaries or sell assets.

The case raises broader questions about the future of the global tech landscape. Could governments worldwide follow suit, restricting access to apps based on their country of origin? Such actions could lead to a fragmented internet, where digital platforms are siloed based on national boundaries and geopolitical alliances.

Implications for Creators and Businesses

For creators and businesses, the stakes are high. TikTok has become an indispensable platform for reaching audiences, generating income, and driving brand awareness. A ban would force creators to migrate to other platforms, potentially disrupting their income streams and reducing their reach. Businesses reliant on TikTok advertising would need to pivot their strategies, potentially investing more heavily in alternative platforms like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, or Snapchat.

The Future of TikTok

As the January 19 deadline approaches, millions of users, creators, and businesses are left in limbo. The Supreme Court’s ruling will not only determine TikTok’s fate in the U.S. but also set a precedent for how governments regulate foreign-owned technology in the future. Regardless of the outcome, this case underscores the complex intersection of technology, politics, and national security in an increasingly interconnected world.

TikTok’s potential ban serves as a wake-up call for businesses and creators to diversify their digital strategies and consider the broader implications of a globalized tech landscape shaped by geopolitical tensions. The next few weeks will be critical for the platform’s future—and for the millions who depend on it.