11. Professional Success and Personal Tragedy Surrounded Mary Godwin Shelley and Percy Shelley’s Adulterous Affair
Daughter of the famous proto-feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Godwin was only a teenager when she eloped with the very married poet, Percy Shelley. The couple left England to escape the scandal, traveling Europe together. Devastated that her husband abandoned her, Shelley’s pregnant wife Harriet committed suicide in 1816. Without regard to the consequences, Percy and Mary married. Not that it mattered: Mary was already calling herself “Mrs. Shelley” before the previous title was vacant.
With such a scandalous beginning, fate delivered Percy and Mary Shelley success and tragedy. Their union scandalized England, forcing them to live abroad for the rest of their lives. The couple had multiple children, but only one son survived to adulthood. While Percy’s progressive politics and unique style negatively affected his career, Mary found success with her groundbreaking novel, Frankenstein. In 1822, six years after they married, Percy drowned in a boating accident in Italy. The devastated Mary returned to England with their son, forging a successful literary career for almost thirty years before she died in 1851.
Interesting Fact: Mary Shelley Kept her Dead Husband’s Heart in her Desk for 30 years.