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Life Timeline
Mary Wollenstonecraft Shelley lived an interesting life. Keep reading to learn its events in chronological order.
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August 30th- Mary Wollenstonecraft Godwin is Born
Mary Wollenstonecraft Godwin is born to a feminist author and political philosopher in London, England. Her parents already have two children; Fanny Imlay and Gilbert Imlay.
September 10th- Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Dies
Before modern medicine, many women died in childbirth or from complications of the same. Mary's mother was no exception and passed away only ten days after giving birth to Mary.
September 12th- Mary's Father Remarries
William Godwin remarried almost exactly four years after his first wife's passing. His new wife is Mary Jane Clairmont, who has a son and a daughter named Charles and Clair, respectively. Mary Wollenstonecraft Godwin is now four.
William Godwin Junior is born
William Godwin Sr.'s second wife Mary Godwin gives birth to what they later realize will be their only child together. Mary is six.
Mary's First Poem is Published
Mary is ten when she publishes her first poem, "Mounseer Nongtongpaw," through her father's press.
June-Mary Moves to Scotland
William Godwin sends Mary to live with the Baxter family in Scotland, presumably to avoid her stepmother. She becomes good friends with the Baxter child, Isabel.
November-Mary Comes Home
Mary returns home for a short period of time.
June-Mary Returns to Scotland
A year after her initial visit, Mary returns to the house of the Baxters.
March-Mary meets Percy Shelley
When Mary returns to Scotland, she meets the young poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. He is already married with two children when Mary and Percy fall in love.
July-The Lovers Flee London
Mary and Percy run off to France, joined by Mary's step-sister Claire Clairmont. Mary is pregnant and sixteen years old. Mary's father William is enraged and does not speak to Mary again for two and a half years.
September 13th-The Group Returns to London
Mary, Percy, and Clair return to London. Mary, now pregnant and penniless, is also now a social outcast for eloping with a married man. Percy is forced to hide from his creditors, and Mary must stay away from him to avoid danger. This is an unhappy period for the young woman.
November 14th- Percy Introduces Thomas Jefferson Hogg
Mary is introduced to Thomas Jefferson Hogg, a friend of Percy's. They hit it off well, and it is thought that they begin to have an affair.
January 1st- T.J. Hogg Confesses Love for Mary
Percy encourages his friend to confess to Mary that he loves her. The two have an affair with the concent of Percy. It is also thought that Percy and Claire Clairmont may have been having an affair at the same time.
February 22nd-Clara Shelley is Born
Mary Godwin gives birth to her first child, but little Clara is two months early and things do not look good for her.
April-Clara Shelley dies
Mary's tiny infant dies at two months old, a devastating loss for the young mother.
January 24th-William Shelley is Born
Mary gives birth again, this time to a boy named William, after Mary's father.
April- Claire Clairmont Becomes Lord Byron's Mistress
Claire becomes mistress to Lord Byron, and introduces Mary to him.
June-Mary Lays the Work for Frankenstein
The young couple takes a vacation to Switzerland with Claire Clairmont, who has become the mistress of Lord Byron. She is pregnant. The group of friends proposes a contest: who can write the best ghost story? In Mary's dream she sees a scientist create a grotesque mockery of life, and begins work on Frankenstein.
October 9th-Fanny Imlay Godwin Dies
Mary's half sister Fanny commits suicide by overdosing on laudanum, a popular opiate drug at the time.
December-Percy Shelley's wife dies
Percy's pregnant wife throws herself into the Serpentine river. While this event is sad, it allows the lovers to be legally wed.
December 30th-Percy and Mary are Married
The couple is married at St. Mildred's Church in London. Mary is pregnant again, and decides to reconcile with her father.
May 14th- Clara Everina Shelley is Born
The couple's third child is born, and is again named Clara after their first lost daughter. Shortly after the baby is born, Mary publishes a book telling the story of her elopement in 1814. It is entitled History of a Six Weeks' Tour.
January 1st- Frankenstein is Published
The book does not have Mary's name on it, and is received extremely well by the public.
March-The Family Travels to Italy
Claire and Lord Byron have created a child, but Lord Byron refuses to give Claire access to her. The Shelleys travel to Italy to soothe Claire and convince Lord Byron to allow Claire to be part of the child's life.
September 24th-Clara Everina Shelley Dies
The young child contracts dyssentry and passes away in Italy.
December 27th-Elena Adelaide is Born
A baby girl is born in Naples, and her parents are listed as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Marina Padurin. Many believe that this girl was Percy's illegitimate child, but some claim that she was a baby he planned to adopt to replace the newly dead Clara. Regardless, the Shelleys leave Naples the next day.
June 7th-William Shelley Dies
William, then three, passes away due to malaria. All of Shelley's children have now passed, and Mary is distraught. She is also, however, pregnant with a fourth child. She suffers a breakdown after William's death that leaves her unhappy for some time.
November 12th-Percy Florence Shelley is Born
A fourth child is born, a son named after his father Percy. He will be the only Shelley child to outlive his parents.
April 19th-Allegra Byron Dies
The daughter of Claire and Lord Byron, renamed Allegra by her father, dies of typhus in a convent school.
July 8th-Percy Bysshe Shelley Dies
Mary's husband dies in a sailing accident in the Gulf of Spezia. Mary is crushed and has her husband's body cremated.
Mary Suffers a Dangerous Miscarriage
February 19th-Mary Publishes Valperga
August 25th-Mary and Percy return to England from Italy
April 19th-Lord Byron Dies
Claire's ex-lover dies in Greece
January 23rd-The Last Man is Published
William Godwin Jr. Dies
The son of Mary's father and her stepmother dies of cholera.
April 7th-William Godwin Sr. Dies
Mary's father dies in London, and Mary is glad they made peace before his death.
February-Falkner is Published
April 24th-Percy Bysshe Shelley's Father Dies
He leaves all of his wealth to Percy Florence Shelley.
September-Mary is Blackmailed
Ferdinando Gatteschi, a man Mary had helped finance and who she had tutored in writing, attempts to blackmail her. Percy Florence Shelley's friend gets the help of the Itatlian police to destroy the letters he possesses.
October-Mary is Blackmailed Again
A man who claims to be Lord Byron's son threatens Mary with publication of private letters between Mary and Percy Shelley unless she buys them from him. Mary takes the man to court and wins, preventing their publication.