Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was a noted English literary figure who wrote during the Romantic period in the early 1800's. She wrote many novels, but her most recognized is Frankenstein, which tells the story of a man who creates a monster, but is destroyed in the end. .
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on August 30, 1797 in London, England. Her parents were both well-known authors; her father published books on philosophy while her mother was a leading feminist writer. Mary Godwin's (Shelley's mother) most famous work was A Vindication of the Rights of Women, which was published in 1792. It explored views on women's rights and showed Godwin's opinion which was reflected in some of Shelley's later novels. When Shelley was born, her parents had only been married for about 5 months, and her mother died 4 weeks after giving birth from complications. Mary never knew her mother, but she still incorporated many of her mother's ideas and opinions into her stories.
Mary grew up under the care of her father and stepmother, whom her father married when she was 4. She was privately educated, and learned a great deal from her father's frequent guests. She also borrowed books from her father's library, and wrote many stories as a child. These factors helped transform Mary into the mold of a great writer early on in her life. .
In 1812, Mary went to live with relatives in Scotland, and she stayed there until 1814. On her return trip to London, she met Percy Bysshe Shelley, and at once they fell in love. Percy was still married to his first wife, Harriet Westbrook, but this did not slow down his relationship with Mary. They had a daughter in February 1815, but she died from being born prematurely. Still, the couple settled in Bishopgate, England, and had a second child, William Shelley. .
In the summer of 1816, Percy and Mary toured continental Europe. During a stop in Switzerland, they rented a house near the British writer Lord Byron.