4. Mary Godwin
Mother dies 11 days after birth.
Four years later, William Godwin marries Mary Jane
Clairemont (children Charles and Claire)
When Mary is fifteen, she goes to live with family
friends in Scotland due to friction with her
stepmother.
On a visit to London, she meets Percy Shelley and his
wife, Harriet at her father’s house.
6. Percy Shelley
Married first wife, Harriet, when she was 16 and he was 19.
Marriage fell apart when Harriet was uninterested in his plans
for an open marriage.
Met Mary Godwin at her father’s house when he was 21. Met
her there again two years later (1814), and eloped with her to
France. His wife is pregnant with their second child.
William Godwin, to the surprise of both Mary and Percy,
refuses to speak with them for two and a half years. Without
the financial support they expected, Percy goes into hiding
from his creditors.
10. 1815-1816: Just Before and During the Writing of
Frankenstein
March 1815: Mary loses her first child to still birth
January 1816: Mary gives birth to a healthy son, William
April 1816: Claire becomes Byron’s mistress
May-June 1816: Mary, Percy, travel to see Byron in Geneva, a pregnant
Claire in tow
July 1816: Mary writes about beginning the story that becomes
Frankenstein
October 1816: Fanny Imlay, Mary’s other half sister, commits suicide.
November 1816: Harriet Shelley commits suicide.
December 30th, Mary and Percy marry.
