Today is the birthday of Mary Shelley (1797) most famous as the author of Frankenstein, considered the first science fiction novel. She was the daughter of philosopher and political writer William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. She didn't have a formal education, but made great use of her father's extensive library and the home was filled with distinguished literary guests, like William Wordsworth. She died of a brain tumor at the age of 53, but lived an incredibly eventful and productive life.
As I was reading about her today, she reminded me of the fictional character in Elizabeth Gilbert's historical novel, "The Signature of All Things." What a wonderful read. The book starts with the story of Henry Whittaker, a poor Englishman who makes a fortune in the South American quinine trade, becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Henry's brilliant daughter ultimately becomes a gifted botanist, specializing in the study of mosses. All this takes place in the early 19th century, when Darwin and others challenged the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class.
"To have in this uncertain world some stay
which cannot be undermined, is of the
utmost consequence."
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Thoughts on the Education of Daughters
The story which later became the novel "Frankenstein" was written during the summer of 1816. It was called "the year without a summer" due to the eruption of Mt. Tambora on an island near Bali in 1815. The eruption was one of the largest in history, and threw so much debris into the atmosphere that it blocked a significant amount of sunlight, causing a "nuclear" winter effect. The Shellys, Lord Byron the poet, and Dr. John Polidori were vacationing together that summer on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The weather was so cold and rainy that they could not go out on the lake nor enjoy outdoor activities on the lake shore. Forced by the weather to remain indoors they decided to have a story writing contest. Mary's story was inspired by a nightmare she had.
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