Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - (1797 - 1851)
(Born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin) English novelist, editor, critic, short story and travel writer.
Shelley is best known for her novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), which has transcended the Gothic and horror genres and is now recognized as a work of philosophical and psychological resonance. Critics agree that with the depiction of a seemingly godless universe where science and technology have gone awry, Shelley created a powerful metaphor for the modern age; indeed, the Frankenstein myth, which has been adapted to stage, film, and television, has pervaded modern culture. Shelley's achievement is considered remarkable, moreover, because she completed the book before her twentieth birthday. In addition to Frankenstein, Shelley's literary works include several novels that were moderately successful when published but are little-known today and an edition of poetry by her husband, the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, which she issued with notes that are now regarded as indispensable. Her reputation rests, however, on what she once called her "hideous progeny," Frankenstein.
Biographical Information
Shelley's personal life has sometimes overshadowed her literary work. She was the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, the early feminist and author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, and William Godwin, the political philosopher and novelist.
This is a free page. This page contains 201 words. This
article contains 23,901 words (approx. 80 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - (1797 - 1851) Access Pass.
