Mary Shelley: Writing Frankenstein

Estimated read time: 1:20

Summary

This video, presented by Biographics, dives into the captivating life of Mary Shelley, renowned author of 'Frankenstein.' Born into an intellectual and radical family, Mary faced adversity, including the tragic loss of her mother shortly after her birth and a complicated family life. Her formative years were steeped in literary and intellectual influences, setting the stage for her future as an iconic writer. The narrative explores her tumultuous romance with Percy Shelley and the heartbreaking loss of multiple children, culminating in the creation of her timeless novel 'Frankenstein.' Amidst personal tragedy, Mary Shelley's story is one of resilience, creativity, and profound impact on the literary world.

Highlights

Mary Shelley's stormy night led to the dream that inspired 'Frankenstein.' ⚡
Her intellectually enriched upbringing influenced her groundbreaking writing. 📖
Mary's passionate yet tragic relationship with Percy Shelley shaped much of her life and work. 💔
The creation of 'Frankenstein' during a rainy summer with other literary figures remains legendary. 🌧️
Her frustrations and societal limits didn't stop her from becoming a legendary figure in literature. 🔥

Key Takeaways

Mary Shelley's life was marked by both immense tragedy and literary triumph. 📚
She faced early hardships, including the death of her mother, yet grew up in a stimulating intellectual environment. 🧠
Mary's relationship with Percy Shelley was both inspiring and filled with sorrow, further fueling her creative genius. ❤️
'Frankenstein,' born from a vivid dream, remains a cornerstone of sci-fi and horror, reflecting societal issues of its time. 👻
Despite her tumultuous life, Mary Shelley became a symbol of literary innovation and personal resilience. 💪

Overview

Born into a family of radical thinkers, Mary Shelley's upbringing was anything but ordinary. Her parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, were influential figures in their time, promoting progressive ideas that shaped Mary's formative years. Despite the early death of her mother, Mary's intellectual environment was rich and nurturing, setting the stage for her future achievements.

Mary's life took a dramatic turn when she met and fell in love with the poet Percy Shelley. Their relationship, steeped in both passion and tragedy, became a deeply influential force in her life. The pair faced numerous challenges, including societal scandal and personal loss, but their shared commitment to literature and ideas remained strong.

The genesis of 'Frankenstein' is a striking tale of creativity born from adversity. During a summer in Switzerland, amidst stormy weather and in the company of notable writers like Lord Byron, Mary envisioned the story that would become her magnum opus. Despite the struggles and tragedies she faced—including the loss of children and the death of her husband—Mary Shelley's legacy as a pioneering author endures.

Chapters

00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Sponsorship The chapter opens with a mention of a sponsorship by Squarespace, an all-in-one platform for building online presences and businesses. Following the sponsorship note, the scene shifts dramatically to a gothic horror setting in June 1816. A powerful storm unfolds over Lake Geneva, characterized by lightning and thunder, setting an ominous and intense atmosphere in a bedroom at the Villa Diodati. This creates a vivid backdrop for the events to follow in this narrative.
00:30 - 02:00: Gothic Inspiration and Early Life The chapter 'Gothic Inspiration and Early Life' explores a transformative moment in the life of a 19-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, who would later become known as Mary Shelley. It describes a vivid nightmare that Mary experienced, depicting the terrifying image of a man brought to life by some powerful force. This vision, while just a passing nightmare for many, deeply impacted Mary and played a significant role in her development and future creation of the iconic novel 'Frankenstein'. The chapter captures the unique way in which Mary drew inspiration from this gothic vision and hints at her early life influences.
02:00 - 03:30: Famous Parents and Family Struggles The chapter titled 'Famous Parents and Family Struggles' provides insight into the life of Mary Shelley, the author of the pioneering sci-fi and horror novel 'Frankenstein.' It highlights her influential background, being born to famous parents and connected to romantic poets. However, despite her seemingly charmed upbringing, Mary Shelley's life was marked by significant tragedy, which had a profound impact on her and her work.
03:30 - 05:30: Education and Teenage Years This chapter delves into the early life of Mary Shelley, the renowned author of 'Frankenstein.' Born Mary Wollstoncraft Godwin before midnight on August 30th, 1797, she inherited a legacy of notoriety and financial instability from her radical parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary Shelley's upbringing and the expectations surrounding her name set the stage for her future as a pivotal figure in gothic literature.
05:30 - 07:30: Meeting Percy Bysshe Shelley The chapter 'Meeting Percy Bysshe Shelley' introduces political philosopher William Godwin, who was an early advocate of anarchism and a prominent writer on social issues. It also highlights the achievements of Mary Wollstonecraft, who authored 'A Vindication of the Rights of Women,' and was a prominent feminist during an era when women were often reduced to traditional roles. Unfortunately, Mary Wollstonecraft passed away shortly after giving birth to Mary Shelley, never getting the chance to know this influential figure.
07:30 - 10:00: Elopement and Italy Tour The chapter titled 'Elopement and Italy Tour' recounts the tragic death of Mary Wollstonecraft due to septicemia, following poor medical practices of the era. William Godwin sought medical help and brought physician Louis Poynyand to attend Mary. Unfortunately, Poynyand's outdated practices—such as not washing hands before examining a patient—led to a severe infection. Her death symbolizes the backwardness of gender relations during that period, as an intelligent woman is metaphorically and literally undone by an underqualified male.
10:00 - 12:30: Tragedy and Writing of Frankenstein This chapter explores the early life of Mary Shelley, focusing on the impact of her mother's death shortly after her birth. It highlights her father William's remarriage to Mary Jane Claremont, a children's book author, which expanded their family significantly. Mary Shelley formed a close bond with her stepsister Claire Claremont during this period.
12:30 - 15:00: Frankenstein's Publication and Initial Reception The chapter discusses the early life of Mary Shelley and her complicated relationship with her stepmother, Mary Jane Clairmont. Shelley perceived Clairmont as evil, possibly due to her strong dislike of having a stepmother replace her deceased mother. Despite Shelley's feelings, Clairmont tried to be supportive, even helping Shelley publish her first book at a young age.
15:00 - 17:30: Return to England and Continued Tragedy The chapter 'Return to England and Continued Tragedy' describes the intellectual environment that William Godwin's children were exposed to, despite his financial struggles. William Godwin, the father, despite constantly facing the threat of bankruptcy, was respected in intellectual circles. As a result, his children, including Mary Shelley, had unique opportunities for growth and learning. They attended lectures by leading thinkers and had visits from admirers such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge. William Godwin encouraged his children to engage in daily studies and learn languages, which led Mary Shelley to become fluent in Latin, Greek, French, and Italian by the age of 14 in the summer of 1812.
17:30 - 22:30: Widowhood and Later Life The chapter titled 'Widowhood and Later Life' explores the intellectually rigorous nature of a central character, who is not only exceptionally intelligent and well-read but also capable of intellectually outperforming most adults. However, her challenging personality leads to tensions with Mary Jane, resulting in her being sent to stay with friends in Scotland for two years, under the guise of a health retreat but likely due to personal conflicts. Despite this separation, she maintains a connection with London through visits, during one of which she meets a man who becomes pivotal in transforming her life.
22:30 - 24:30: Legacy and Death Mary Shelley's encounter with her future husband, Percy, happened by chance. At 20, Percy was already in a complicated situation: married, expecting a child, and recently disowned by his aristocratic family due to his atheist beliefs. Desiring a father figure, he admired political thinker, William Godwin. Enter Mary, then only 15, who found herself intrigued by the radical poet who entered their lives.
24:30 - 26:00: Frankenstein’s Lasting Impact This chapter explores the early romance between Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Initially marked by an idealized courtship through shared readings at her mother's grave, the bond between the two developed into a serious relationship. Despite William Godwin's attempts to prevent them from seeing each other, Mary and Percy defied his wishes. On July 28, 1814, Mary, alongside her stepsister Claire, escaped the family home at dawn to be with Percy, cementing their commitment to each other.
26:00 - 27:00: Mary Shelley's Legacy and Conclusion The chapter titled 'Mary Shelley's Legacy and Conclusion' discusses a transformative period in Mary Shelley's life, highlighting her journey through Europe alongside Percy Shelley and another companion. During a six-week tour across countries like France, Germany, and Switzerland, they experienced the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. This journey heavily inspired Mary Shelley's first adult book, 'History of a Six-Week Tour,' reflecting the romantic essence of their travels. Upon their return to England in September, Mary faced familial disapproval - her father, William Godwin, was displeased with her escapade with Percy despite his own radical beliefs. The chapter paints a vivid picture of a pivotal moment that shaped Mary's personal and literary life.

Mary Shelley: Writing Frankenstein Transcription

00:00 - 00:30 this video is brought to you by squarespace from websites and online stores to marketing tools and analytics squarespace is the all-in-one platform to build a beautiful online presence and run your business check out squarespace through the link in the description below more on them in a bit it was a night out of some gothic horror in june of 1816 a terrific storm erupted over lake geneva lightning flashed across dark water thunder boomed in a bedroom in the villa dia deity
00:30 - 01:00 a 19 year old girl lay awake transfixed by a disturbing vision i saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out she would like to say and then on the working of some powerful engine show signs of life it was a half glimpse of a nightmare one most of us would have probably tried to shake off as a sign that would have too much cheese and fine port before bed but that teenage girl wasn't most of us she was mary wollenstonecraft godwin the future mary shelley
01:00 - 01:30 and that vision would become the basis for one of the 19th century's greatest novels frankenstein a pioneering classic of sci-fi and horror frankenstein today remains one of the most influential books ever written yet how much do most of us know about the woman behind it born of famous parents connected to the romantic poets mary shelley's life from the outside appeared charmed yet it was also a life lived in the shadow of immense tragedy
01:30 - 02:00 fittingly for someone who'd write a classic work of gothic horror mary shelley was born shortly before the stroke of midnight on august 30th 1797. of course she wasn't born mary shelley although we're going to keep using her married name in these early sections since it's the one that everyone knows but rather mary wallston craft godwin a frankenstein version of her parents names william godwin and mary wollstonecraft it was a name that would give her a lot to live up to both william and mary were radicals who were as famous as they were financially unstable the
02:00 - 02:30 political philosopher william godwin was an early proponent of anarchism and a leading writer on social issues if anything mary wollstonecraft was even more impressive the author of the vindication of the rights of women she lived and breathed feminism at a time when men mostly saw women as pretty baby-making machines sadly for mary shelley though she'd never get to meet this one-woman powerhouse two hours after her birth it became clear the afterburst hadn't come away
02:30 - 03:00 william godwin went to find help and at 3am he returned with the physician louis poynyand unfortunately poignant was a product of his time a doctor who thought washing his hands before touching a patient was as absurd as operating while wearing lederhosen poignant removed the traces of afterbirth with dirty fingers this led to serious infection and mary wollstonecraft died of septicemia just 11 days later and no we can't think of a better metaphor for the backwardness of gender relations in this era than an intelligent woman literally being killed by an underqualified
03:00 - 03:30 and overconfident man the death of her mother when she was just a few days old left a hole in mary shelley's young life that would never be filled not that william didn't try in 1801 he married mary jane claremont who'd soon become famous publishing children's books it was a union that swelled the family to a ridiculous size alongside shelly the younger generation now consisted of a half-sister fanny claremont's children claire and charles and would soon also include a brand new baby but while shelley and her stepsister claire claremont became close friends the same could be
03:30 - 04:00 said of her stepmom as far as young shelley was concerned mary jane claremont was evil incarnate like if some mad scientist had managed to cross breed the wicked witch of the west with diobrando by all accounts this was hugely unfair mary jane tried to be a good substitute mother even helping shelley put out her first book at age eleven the children's tale mancia nong tong poor but shelley wasn't having these kind gestures this woman had replaced her dead mother that was all she needed to hate her still for all its drama shelley's childhood was enriching in ways that
04:00 - 04:30 were hyper unusual for the era actually scratch that for any era really while plagued by debt and forever teetering on the brink of bankruptcy william godwin was still lionized in intellectual circles this meant his children were taken to see lectures from leading thinkers it meant home visits from admirers like samuel taylor coolridge it also meant being encouraged to better themselves by spending each morning deep in study by learning languages shelly herself became fluent in latin greek french and italian by the summer of 1812 then mary shelley was 14
04:30 - 05:00 hyper-intelligent extremely well-read and able to run intellectual circles around most adults she could also be hell to deal with that june she was packed off to stay with friends in scotland for two years ostensibly for her health but more likely because she and mary jane were on the verge of killing one another still the move wasn't permanent she could pop down to london on visits it would be on one of these visits that she would meet the man who'd transform her life
05:00 - 05:30 the fact mary shelley ever met her husband was down to sheer dumb luck the son of an aristocratic family percy shelley was 20 already married and had a child on the way but he was also a radical atheist who'd recently been disowned by his dad sir timothy and was now hunting for a surrogate father the man he'd landed on well his political hero william godwin mary shelley was just 15 when the poet came blowing through the family's life like a breath of fresh air zephyr from a distant land the teenage girl was very interested in exploring but it wouldn't be
05:30 - 06:00 until she turned 16 and returned permanently from scotland in spring of 1814 that their romance really began at first it was more an over-romanticized courtship the pair sought out her mother's grave where they would sit together and read her works but at some point it clearly became more than just a two-person study group so much so that william godwin tried to forbid shelley from ever seeing percy instead she ran away with him on july 28 1814 by the faint light of dawn mary and her stepsister claire clement snuck out of the family home and into a waiting
06:00 - 06:30 carriage then the two of them set off with percy for the adventure of a lifetime for six weeks that summer the trio toured europe still shattered by the napoleonic wars they saw france germany switzerland a great romantic tool that would later inspire mary shelley's first adult book history of a six-week tour at last that september shelly returned to england penniless pregnant and firmly in love only to find her family super unimpressed william godwin might have been a radical but that radicalism didn't extend to some poet prancing in and sweeping his teenage daughter off to europe
06:30 - 07:00 shunned by their relatives suddenly at the heart of a juicy society scandal shelly and percy moved in together to try and make a go of it since percy was an advocate of free love this included odd stuff like shelly unenthusiastically having an affair with his friend thomas jefferson hogg it also included unimaginable tragedy in february of 1815 mary shelley gave birth to her first daughter prematurely 11 days later she came in to wake the baby in the night for feeding but saw it was sleeping so deeply that she left it in peace the next morning her yet unnamed daughter was dead
07:00 - 07:30 it was a heartbreaking moment in the couple's new relationship one perhaps best encapsulated by an entry in shelley's diary dream that my little baby came to life again that it had only been cold and that we rubbed it before the fire and it lived she wrote awake and find no baby and just a warning if you're already feeling rather depressed children dying is going to be a constant miserable theme of this episode if you want a happy story well look elsewhere only weeks after the nameless child died
07:30 - 08:00 shelley felt pregnant again this time the baby would survive long enough to get a name william but while william would stick around for a couple more chapters please don't get too attached to him come spring of 1816 the couple were bruised by tragedy and fed up with still being the object of a scandal finally in may they seem to have decided you know what to hell with this judgmental rainy island again joined by claire claremont they once again set out for europe this time
08:00 - 08:30 in the direction of italy but first they'd make a detour clairemonsi had other reasons for heading to europe just recently she'd conducted an affair with the brooding dashing lord byron and was desperate to see more of him it would be thanks to her pushing that the shelley's changed direction heading instead for the shores of lake geneva and the waiting scandalous poet there the four of them were destined to make literary history now just before we get into the rest of today's video let me tell you about our glorious sponsor squarespace this is the age of creation think about it people
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10:00 - 10:30 amounts of gases were spewed into the atmosphere a sulfur veil that enveloped the planet lowering the temperature of the northern hemisphere by around 4 degrees this was such a sharp drop that 1816 would become the year without summer that year rivers froze in august floods swept europe there was record rainfall in geneva that meant shelley percy byron and clement spent their spare time not boating and hiking and thinking sublime thoughts but stuck inside staring out at the rain try not
10:30 - 11:00 to go mad from the moment the trio had hooked up with byron and his personal physician john polidori they'd gotten along like an indonesian volcano on fire moving into neighboring homes but as the weather turned and they began spending more time cooped up in byron's villa died daddy that friendship had curdled into unbearable tension polidori was trying to get into mary shelley's pants while claremon was trying to get into byron's while byron was doing his utmost to stop that from happening as the tension grew it became clear that the group was on the verge of everybody
11:00 - 11:30 either shooting one another or starting a gigantic and insanely regrettable orgy so lord byron decided to occupy them with a bit of a challenge everyone at his villa would have to write a ghost story for some this was easy john polidori got right to work on the tale of a seductive aristocratic vampire that was essentially an extended satire on byron himself but mary shelley had hit a brick wall for days she was forced to confess each morning that her muse had evidently
11:30 - 12:00 carried on to italy without her with each day her frustration and embarrassment grew then one evening it happened shelley was lying awake in bed listening to the tambora caused storms howling over the lake her mind was filled with thoughts of a discussion byron and percy had been drawn into a few nights earlier on the then red-hot science of galvanism this was the theory that human corpses could be reanimated with electricity this is where we first met mary shelley in our introduction today waiting on the gods of writing to send her a spark instead they sent her an inferno the
12:00 - 12:30 vision shelley saw of an engine bringing a dead man to life set her mind racing come mourning she had the germ of something a story about a hubristic scientist who creates new life only to abandon it driving it to murder a story that would go down in history as frankenstein one of the english language's earliest works of science fiction frankenstein is at once both a deceptively simple fable and a deeply laid work within its gothic pages people have seen an allegory of the
12:30 - 13:00 french revolution and the forces it unleashed a meditation on the advances of the industrial age even a veiled commentary on slavery the fight for abolition in britain's colonies being one of shelly's passions perhaps more importantly though it's simply a cracking read over 200 years later shelley's story still holds up as well as the day it was written on publication in 1818 it was a sensation one friend wrote percy that the novel seemed to be universally known and read while critics were divided between those who thought it powerful and those who thought it unseemly
13:00 - 13:30 readers just couldn't get enough of it the only annoying thing must have been the assumptions that some of them made since shelley had published the book anonymously and since percy had written the forward and since this was the good old sexist past everyone was like let's just assume that percy shelley wrote this i mean there's no way anyone with a vagina could have created frankenstein am i right it wasn't until the second edition in 1823 that mary shelley would finally get the public credit she deserved by then though her young life would have been consumed by loss
13:30 - 14:00 it was the 29th of august 1816 when shelley percy and claire returned to england mary carrying the idea for frankenstein claire carrying byron's baby but rather than a triumphant homecoming it was the beginning of a series of misfortunes that would soon come to plague shelley the first took place that autumn on october the 9th shelley lost her half-sister fanny to suicide exactly one month later percy's wife harriet threw herself into the thames while pregnant with his child her
14:00 - 14:30 body was only found on december 10th but while percy may have felt some dark sense of guilt he also didn't look a gift horse in the mouth barry and percy shelley were officially wed just 20 days after harriet's waterlogged remains were pulled from the river a real too soon moment if there ever was one still the marriage started well enough now her relationship with percy was official william godwin reconnected with his daughter just five months later shelley finished frankenstein that same year 1817 her daughter clara was born giving the shelley's hope that
14:30 - 15:00 their first lost baby had been an unhappy one-off but no this is the life of mary shelley remember one we've already warned you is filled with endless agonizing sadness even as the publication of frankenstein approached she was going to have to deal with more misery in spring of 1818 the couple returned with claire to europe hoping to reconnect with byron in italy and introduce him to his new child at first things were great the group found it liberating to be out of stuffy old
15:00 - 15:30 england back in europe where they felt they could be free but the trip quickly soured in venice that september baby clara caught dysentery and died having just turned one year old the shelley's grief was vast unnameable it was also only the beginning the following year in rome their son william was carried away by malaria aged just three the deaths of her two surviving children in such quick succession broke mary shelley she withdrew into herself her relationship with percy crumbling in her diary she wrote the despairing phrase this is the journal book of misfortunes
15:30 - 16:00 honestly that was an understatement mary shelley may have only been 22 and already the mother of three dead kids but her future was filled with yet more tragedy still there was the odd ray of light when william died shelley was already pregnant again in november 1819 she gave birth to percy florence shelly his middle name taken from the italian city where he was staying and just to stop you from worrying fear not unlike his siblings percy florence actually survives into adulthood
16:00 - 16:30 in fact the boy's birth heralded a brief period of calm as frankenstein became a sensation home mary and percy settled with their son in pisa there they made international friends and briefly lived the lives that they'd always dreamed of ordinary lives not haunted by the specter of death watching their child grow in the life of mary shelley this time was an oasis a little pool of happiness amid a dark desert of grief so let's just give her a moment to enjoy it shall we before we get back
16:30 - 17:00 to all of the horrid stuff a short break between chapters where for the briefest of seconds we can let our heroine be happy because when we come back things are only going to get worse in may of 1822 the shellies and claire arrived in san terenzo with their friends edward and jane williams to spend summer on the wild italian coast from the start the trip was troubled just before they left the daughter claire had had with byron died of fever aged just five at the same time mary
17:00 - 17:30 and percy's relationship was badly on the rocks half wrecked by percy's affairs and the other half by the lingering depression both still felt over the children's deaths shelley was even pregnant again but not happily already in a low mood she couldn't take the wild swings of pregnancy by the time they arrived at their rented home of carson magley she was convinced disaster laid just over the horizon horrible as it is to say she was right the first tragedy came on june the 16th that day shelley suffered a horrifying miscarriage one which saw her lose so much blood it's a miracle
17:30 - 18:00 she survived in fact she nearly didn't it was only by making her sit in an ice bath for hours that percy managed to stop the bleeding allowing her to see another day the brutal miscarriage marked the end of shelley's fifth and last pregnancy having been pregnant for most of the previous six years the demands in her body had simply gotten too great after this there would be no more attempts at children especially when you consider what came next while mary shelley's depression had manifested itself in becoming withdrawn percies had made itself felt through strange visions
18:00 - 18:30 and increasingly erratic behavior not long after his wife's near fatal miscarriage he and edward williams took his boat don juan across the gulf of speezia on july 8 1822 they were warned against returnings and storms were brewing but percy seems to have just waved the threat away and then when a storm did blow up he refused an offer of help from a passing ship maybe he was just too naive to realize the danger they were in or maybe losing his kids had left him with a death wish either way the don juan was lost in the squall ten days later percy shelley's waterlogged body was found
18:30 - 19:00 by then it had been in the sea for so long that his face had been eaten away he was identified by a book of poems in his pocket after a brief period buried to comply with italian law shelley had her husband's body dug back up on august 16 his remains were burned on a beach watched over by two old friends and percy's fellow poet lord byron supposedly his heart was retrieved from the ashes which shelly then wrapped in silk and carried around for the rest of her life the death of her husband aged 29 was a shock mary shelley would never recover from for eight years she wrote
19:00 - 19:30 i communicated with unlimited freedom with one whose genius far transcending mind awakened and guided by thoughts i conversed with him recited my errors of judgment obtained new lights from him and my mind was satisfied now i am alone oh how alone the stars maybe hold my tears and the wind drink my size but my thoughts are a sealed treasure which i can confide to none but of course she wasn't really alone percy florence was still alive and now she needed to take care of her son
19:30 - 20:00 without her husband's income at first shelley tried to remain in italy in the country her husband had loved so much soon though the money ran out percy's father said timothy coldly informed her he would only support her son if percy florence was raised in england so it was that against her will the author of frankenstein returned to the country of her birth originally she hoped to publish percy shelley's collected poems but sir timothy was such a colossal penis that he threatened to cut her off if the family name ever appeared in print again
20:00 - 20:30 unable to raise a son on her income alone shelly obeyed waiting for when the awful old man might die and allow her and her boy to be free sadly she would wait a very long time shelley's one consolation back in rainy conservative england was that frankenstein's popularity was greater than ever 1823 saw the first theatrical production a play that was such a smash hit but there would be six versions of it that year alone by 1824 the
20:30 - 21:00 tale was so well known that the foreign secretary directly referenced it in a speech to parliament as shelly riley noted of this period lo and behold i found myself famous by now though it wasn't just frankenstein that she was famous for but for being the last living link to the romantics yep it's time for yet more characters to die in this case lord byron who was carried away by illness while fighting in the greek war of independence with john polidori already dead by suicide mary shelley and claire claremont became the last surviving members of the bright young poets who'd
21:00 - 21:30 gathered at lake geneva only eight years earlier to change literary history or as shell yourself put it i am the last relic of a beloved race my companions extinct before me a quick reminder if you're needed at this stage she's only 26 26 already widowed with three dead children and a miscarriage behind her and all her closest friends long enough to the great villa diodati in the sky still shelley was at least able to keep working in 1826 she published the last man
21:30 - 22:00 a tale about the lone survivor of a devastating plague that's now considered her second best work unfortunately sir timothy hit the roof when he found out and he briefly cut her off because apparently that's just how miserable that old [ __ ] was after that shelley's art never quite hit the same heights again now we don't want to give the impression nothing happened in these later years while poor by the standards of her class shelley was still able to travel even meeting the marquis de lafayette in paris in 1828 like a 19th century version of one of those marvel cameos despite
22:00 - 22:30 sir timothy she still lived in an orthodox life befriending the writer mary diana dodds who was romantically involved with another woman and only ever appeared in public as a male she even continued writing in 1834 shelley picked up regular work writing biographical sketches of famous people for the cabinet cyclopedia a sort of handheld biographics for old-timey folk but still in the grand scheme of things these were the quiet years shawn of the adventure romance and
22:30 - 23:00 impact of shelley's early life the flip side of that though is that they were also stable percy florence grew up to be a healthy young man free of the tragedy that bedeviled his long-dead siblings as the years passed a timothy mellowed at least allowing shelly to publish a definitive volume of her dead husband's poems in 1840. better still the old fart died not long after leaving shelly and her son enough money to never worry about poverty again not that shelley had long to enjoy her newfound wealth mary shelley died of a brain tumor on the 1st of february 1851 at the age of 53. she
23:00 - 23:30 left behind not just a sun and an unfinished biography of percy shelley but also a creation that had taken on a life of its own from its very first production in 1823 frankenstein became a staple of the theater with hundreds of versions staged in multiple countries because of this popularity it was eventually picked for adaptation by the new film industry that arose in america first in 1910 by thomas edison and then far more famously by universal in 1931 and while boris karloff's silent hulking monster maybe a million miles away from the erudite creature of shelley's
23:30 - 24:00 tale the essence of her story that flicker of sympathy we feel for the devil remained unchanged today it's hard to imagine how fiction would look without frankenstein so influential was it that its effects can be seen almost everywhere like bram stoker's dracula or the works of edgar allan poe it's the bedrock of modern genre fiction yet there was more to marry shelley than just this one book as this video has hopefully shown she was a woman who seemed to stand apart from her
24:00 - 24:30 own time not just as a literary pioneer but as someone who tried her damnedest to live on her own terms she didn't always succeed but we've no doubt that had mary wollstonecraft lived to see the woman her daughter grew up to be she would have felt nothing but pride so i really hope you found this video interesting if you did please do hit that thumbs up button below don't forget to subscribe and as always thank you for watching