I’m continuing my series of blog posts about Frankenstein with some suggestions about how to learn more about Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. She was the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and Wiliam Godwin, the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley, and she wrote Frankenstein when she was 19 years old! I think this recent article gives a good sense of why she is such an important literary figure.
If you are looking for a short bio of her, this page on the Romantic Circles Edition is a good place to start. You might also be interested in this entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. You can also find several useful entries in the Dictionary of Literary Biography.
You might also be interested in these longer biographies:
Mary Shelley by Miranda Seymour
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl who Wrote Frankenstein by Fiona Sampson
Mary Shelley by Muriel Spark
Moon in Eclipse: A Life of Mary Shelley by Jane Dunn
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is also going to be the subject of National Geographic’s Genius Season Three! Here’s an interesting recent article from their website.
You might also be interested in viewing a recent film about her starring Elle Fanning.
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for Frankenreads!