Mary W. Shelley British novelist, born 1797, died 1851. picture? Short Bio: Daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft (the author of "The Rights of Women") and William Godwin (who wrote "An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice"), born in 1797. Was brought up by her father, her mother having died shortly after giving birth. This brought her into contact with her father's circle, including Percy Bysshe Shelley who she later married. On a dark and stormy night in Switzerland, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Polidori agreed to each write a ghost story. The result was Polidori's The Vampyre, which is nearly forgotten today, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or the Modern Promtheus---written when she was 19. This novel about the creation of artifical life and the ethics of science has remained in print ever since. ----- Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. quote from Frankenstein --- Mary Shelley continued to write novels, but never recaptured the success of her first novel. Writings: History of Six Week's Tour, 1817 (with Percy Pysshe Shelley) Frankenstein; or the modern Prometheus, 1818 Valperga, 1823 The Last Man, 1826 Matilda, 1959 Movies: Frankenstein, 1910 (Edison Company) Frankenstein, 1931 (directed by James Whale, Boris Karloff as the Monster) Bride of Frankenstein, 1935 (directed by James Whale, Karloff reprising his role as the monster; Elsa Lanchester as Mary Shelley). The Curse of Frankenstein, 1957 (directed by Terence Fisher, Christopher Lee as the monster) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, 1994 (directed by Kenneth Branagh, Robert de Niro as the monster) Links: Check for the book at Amazon Wikipedia page