Meet Mary Shelley Mary Shelley created one of the most famous monsters of all time Since her novel Frankenstein Or the Modern Prometheus appeared in 1818 it has never gone out of print and has been translated into more than thirty languages To this day the book is considered the first great work of science fiction Mary Shelley was born on August 30 1797 in London England Her parents were philosopher William Godwin and women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft Mary’s mother died when she was just 11 days old Mary was educated at home and had access to her father’s library He encouraged her to read and write and expected her to excel in intellectual pursuits Those expectations were dashed when at age 16 Mary fell in love with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley They would marry on December 30 1816 In the summer of that year with Mary’s sister Claire the two traveled to Geneva Switzerland There they stayed with Percy’s friend George Gordon Lord Byron and Byron’s physician Dr John Polidori 4
One night Lord Byron posed a challenge Who could write the scariest story Mary was up to the challenge to prove herself worthy of her father’s expectations But she struggled with writer’s block and her frustration mounted as weeks passed without any progress Then Mary dreamed one night of a young doctor kneeling next to a human-like creation When she awoke she was encouraged to write about her dream On January 1 1818 500 copies of Frankenstein Or the Modern Prometheus were published The book was published anonymously At the time many believed that a woman was incapable of writing such a blasphemous story Percy was widely considered to be the author It wasn’t until the second edition was printed five years later that Mary’s name appeared on the book In 1822 Percy drowned in a boating accident A widow at the age of 24 Mary settled in England with the couple’s last living child Percy Florence She died on February 1 1851 Although Mary Shelley wrote other novels she will always be remembered for creating Frankenstein 5
CHAPTER 1 BACK IN TIME You’re late I said glancing at my watch Jacob shrugged and flung his backpack on the table Better late than never I told you my sailing lesson wouldn’t be over by eleven Jacob Saville and I took sailing lessons at Bourne Community Boating We took lessons together last year But after he barked orders at me one too many times my parents switched me to private lessons Sh came a voice from behind us We turned to see Mrs Nelson the librarian smiling The Jonathan Bourne Public Library has rules She tapped on a poster behind her desk Rule 2 Use Quiet Voices She pointed to a room with glass windows Maggie if you’re going to talk use the study room please 7
