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

21 October 2025

Paul Francis

Want your article or story on our site? Contact us here

The Lost Art of Being Bored: Why Doing Nothing Might Be Good for You

Why the Future of Work Depends on Emotional Intelligence, Not Automation

Pop-Up Ads: The Rise, Fall, and Legacy of the Internet’s Most Hated Invention

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.

Current Most Read

WWE Clash in Paris 2025 Review

Paul Francis
Sep 3
3 min read

A Historic First for Paris

WWE made history on September 1, 2025, when it brought its first-ever premium live event to Paris. The French capital delivered an electric atmosphere, with fans in the Accor Arena loudly backing their favourites throughout the night. The show itself had a mix of hard-hitting contests, nostalgia-driven returns, and big-name showdowns that kept the energy high.

Roman Reigns vs Bronson Reed

The night’s marquee bout saw Roman Reigns take on Bronson Reed in a heavyweight clash. The match itself was a solid collision of two larger-than-life figures. Reed’s power was on full display, while Reigns leaned on his trademark resilience and presence to keep the match grounded in his favour.

The match divided opinion in its aftermath. WWE chose to extend the post-match segment significantly, which stretched on longer than expected for a premium live event. While it did add drama and furthered the storyline, the length might have cut into time that could have been used elsewhere on the card. Still, the clash between Reigns and Reed served as a fitting centrepiece, even if the follow-up lingered.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match

The tag team division was given a spotlight, but this particular contest struggled to capture attention. Both teams put in a shift, yet WWE has not done much recently to make fans truly invest in the storyline. Without strong character work or ongoing rivalries, the match came across more as filler than a must-see encounter. For some viewers, it was an opportunity to grab snacks rather than stay glued to the action.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship Match: Becky Lynch vs Nikki Bella

This was one of the more talked-about matches of the night, simply because of the curiosity factor. Nikki Bella, a star of the Divas era, stepped up to face Becky Lynch, one of the faces of modern women’s wrestling.

There was intrigue in seeing whether Nikki could adapt to Becky’s more physical, athletic style. While her entrance brought back memories of an earlier WWE era, Nikki often looked hesitant when it came to taking bigger bumps. Unlike Trish Stratus, who successfully modernised her in-ring style, Nikki seemed somewhat out of place. Becky carried the bout as best she could, but the end result felt like a mismatch. A different opponent might have created a more competitive and believable encounter.

Donnybrook Match

One of the highlights of the evening came with the Donnybrook match. A good old-fashioned fight delivered exactly what fans expected. The physicality was relentless, with both men battering each other from bell to bell. It was a heavy-hitting brawl that embodied the phrase, “big meaty men slapping meat,” and it stood out for its raw energy and simplicity. No gimmicks were needed beyond the stipulation itself.

John Cena vs Logan Paul

This was a fascinating clash between eras. John Cena returned once again to prove he still had plenty in the tank, while Logan Paul continued to defy critics who once wrote him off as a part-timer dabbling in the business.

Cena rolled out move after move, almost as if he was trying to silence the long-standing joke of his “five moves of doom.” Meanwhile, Logan once again showed why he has become one of WWE’s most natural celebrity-turned-wrestlers. His athleticism, timing, and sheer commitment to being a despised heel made this one of the stronger matches of the night. As much as many fans want to dislike him, Paul has taken to professional wrestling with an ease that is hard to deny.

Fatal Four-Way Main Event

The Fatal Four Way provided a stacked lineup of top-tier stars. The chemistry between the competitors was excellent, with each man given opportunities to shine. The biggest surprise came from Jey Uso, who showed a willingness to turn on his allies rather than the more predictable suspects like LA Knight or CM Punk.

The finish, however, was easy to see coming. WWE has made interference a near-certainty in big matches, and Clash in Paris followed the formula. It did not take away from the quality of the in-ring action, but it meant that the closing moments lacked the unpredictability that the early part of the match had promised.

Final Thoughts

Clash in Paris 2025 delivered a strong atmosphere and several memorable moments, even if the show was not without its pacing issues. The crowd made the event feel special, and matches like the Donnybrook and Cena vs Logan Paul proved to be standout highlights. Other bouts struggled to live up to the billing, either due to predictable storytelling or underdeveloped rivalries.

For WWE’s first premium live event in Paris, it was a success, but one that left space for improvement if they return to France in the future.