Similarly to Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley lost her mother at a young age. She spent her adolescent years residing with a foster family in Scotland, due to constant disagreements with her step-mother. At the age of 17, Shelley was introduced to Percy Shelley and they eloped, despite the fact that he was already married. Upon the suicide of Percy Shelley’s wife, they married. Mary gave birth to four children prematurely; her fifth child survived. Percy Shelley died at sea; Mary Shelley lived until the age of 53, before passing to a brain tumour.
As the daughter of philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley developed an aptitude and admiration for writing. Her idea for Frankenstein was developed during time spent with Percy Shelley and Lord Byron in Geneva, where it was suggested by Lord Byron that each member of their group author a ghost story. |