The World's Largest Public Domain Media Search Engine

Mary Shelley (1797–1851)

English novelist, author of the gothic novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, which is considered an early example of science fiction.Created by: PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search EngineDated: 1797
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Rothwell
Mary Shelley is an English novelist whose work has reached all corners of the globe. Author of Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), Shelley was the daughter of the radical philosopher William Godwin, who described her as ‘singularly bold, somewhat imperious, and active of mind’. Her mother, who died days after her birth, was the famous defender of women’s rights, Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary grew up with five semi-related siblings in Godwin’s unconventional but intellectually electric household.

At the age of 16, Mary eloped to Italy with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who praised ‘the irresistible wildness & sublimity of her feelings’. Each encouraged the other’s writing, and they married in 1816 after the suicide of Shelley’s wife. They had several children, of whom only one survived.

A ghost-writing contest on a stormy June night in 1816 inspired Frankenstein, often called the first true work of science-fiction. Superficially a Gothic novel, influenced by the experiments of Luigi Galvani, it was concerned with the destructive nature of power when allied to wealth.

Familiar to scholars, librarians and the entire literary world, the novel tells the story of Doctor Victor Frankenstein and a creature he creates in an unorthodox scientific experiment. It was an instant wonder and spawned a mythology all of its own that endures to this day.

After Percy Shelley’s death in 1822, she returned to London and pursued a very successful writing career as a novelist, biographer and travel writer. She also edited and promoted her husband’s poems and other writings.
50 Media in collection ∙ page 1 of 1
Autograph letter signed to Mary Shelley, 1-3 August 1817

Autograph letter signed to Mary Shelley, 1-3 August 1817

Frankenstein: a romantic drama, in three acts, [Title page]

Frankenstein: a romantic drama, in three acts, [Title page]

Public domain photograph of an album page related to Mary Shelley, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description Mary Shelley was an English novelist, short story writer, and dramatist, bes... More

Caricature, The Irish Frankenstein, public domain cartoon image

Caricature, The Irish Frankenstein, public domain cartoon image

Public domain scan of newspaper clippings, periodicals, free to use, no copyright restrictions - Picryl description.

Photo of Mary Shelley (1797–1851) - Public domain dedication

Photo of Mary Shelley (1797–1851) - Public domain dedication

Public domain photo of a 3d object, Italy, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, , Preface

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, , Preface

Public domain photograph of an album page related to Mary Shelley, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description Mary Shelley was an English novelist, short story writer, and dramatist, bes... More

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Rothwell

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Rothwell

Portrait of Mary Shelley (1797-1851)

FrankensteinDraft

FrankensteinDraft

Manuscript page from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

ShelleyFrenchWriters

ShelleyFrenchWriters

Title page from second volume of the pirated Philadelphia edition of Lives of the Most Eminent French Writers.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Mr. T. P. Cooke, of the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, in the character of the monster in the dramatic romance of Frankenstein

Mr. T. P. Cooke, of the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, in the character ...

Public domain photograph of an album page related to Mary Shelley, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description Mary Shelley was an English novelist, short story writer, and dramatist, bes... More

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Grandes chroniques de France Jean Fouquet: MaryShelleyEaston3, illuminated manuscript

Grandes chroniques de France Jean Fouquet: MaryShelleyEaston3, illumin...

Reginald Easton painted this miniature portrait of Mary Shelley, on a flax coloured background. It incorporates a circlet backed by blue, the same seen in the Rothwell painting and a shawl.[1][2]

Nongtongpaw

Nongtongpaw

Frontispiece and title page from Mounseer Nongtongpaw, held at the New York Public Library

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. I

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. I

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

LauretteTardy - Public domain portrait print

LauretteTardy - Public domain portrait print

Laurette Tardy, married first to Adolphe Galloni, then Placido Tardy; Mary Shelley wrote a children's story for her when she was a child

PBSPoeticalWorks

PBSPoeticalWorks

Title page from The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1840)

Autograph letter signed to Mary Shelley, 1-3 August 1817

Autograph letter signed to Mary Shelley, 1-3 August 1817

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

The Keepsake 1829, Adalinda - Charles Heath

The Keepsake 1829, Adalinda - Charles Heath

"Adalinda", engraving from The Keepsake for 1829, illustrating Ferdinando Eboli, by Mary Shelley. Portraying Adalinda, romantic interest of title character, escaping her captors while disguised as a page, and ... More

MaryShelleyDeathPoem

MaryShelleyDeathPoem

Image of the manuscript of the poem Mary Shelley wrote on the death of Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

FrenchLivesTitle - Public domain dedication image

FrenchLivesTitle - Public domain dedication image

Title page from the second volume of Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of France

MauriceManuscript

MauriceManuscript

First page from Maurice manuscript

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. I

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. I

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

ShelleySharpeJuliet

ShelleySharpeJuliet

Illustration of Juliet for Mary Shelley's story "Transformation" in The Keepsake (1830)

Shelley Rothwell

Shelley Rothwell

Portrait. Oil on board, 29.8 x 24.7 cm.

Mary and Percy Shelley. Engraving by George Stodart after monument by Henry Weekes

Mary and Percy Shelley. Engraving by George Stodart after monument by ...

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Stipple engraving.

The Funeral of Shelley by Louis Edouard Fournier

The Funeral of Shelley by Louis Edouard Fournier

Louis Édouard Fournier, The Cremation of Percy Bysshe Shelley, oil on canvas, Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery.

GodwinJournal

GodwinJournal

Page from William Godwin's journal recording Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin's (Mary Shelley's) birth on 30 August 1797; held at the Bodleian Library

History of Six Weeks Frontispiece

History of Six Weeks Frontispiece

History of Six Weeks Frontispiece

ShelleyEssaysLettersTitle

ShelleyEssaysLettersTitle

Title page from the second volume of Essays, Letters from Abroad, Translations and Fragments by Percy Shelley and Mary Shelley

Photo of Mary Shelley (1797–1851) - Public domain dedication

Photo of Mary Shelley (1797–1851) - Public domain dedication

Public domain photo of a 3d object, Italy, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

PerkinWarbeck

PerkinWarbeck

Title page from Perkin Warbeck

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Chapter XV

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Chapter XV

Public domain photograph of an album page related to Mary Shelley, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description Mary Shelley was an English novelist, short story writer, and dramatist, bes... More

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Shelley Easton - Public domain portrait painting

Shelley Easton - Public domain portrait painting

Posthumous miniature portrait allegedly painted after a death-mask.

The Keepsake for 1830, Zella - Charles Heath

The Keepsake for 1830, Zella - Charles Heath

"Zella", image from The Keepsake for 1830, a British literary annual, illustrating the story The Evil Eye by "The Author of Frankenstein" (Mary Shelley).

ShelleyRambles

ShelleyRambles

Title page from Rambles in Germany and Italy

Le monstre et le magicien: M.r Cooke, rôle du monstre, M.r Ménier, rôle de Zametti

Le monstre et le magicien: M.r Cooke, rôle du monstre, M.r Ménier, rôl...

Public domain scan of 18th-century genre print, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. I

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. I

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. I

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. I

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Keepsake1829

Keepsake1829

Title page from the 1829 Keepsake

SixWeeksTourTitle

SixWeeksTourTitle

Title page from History of a Six Weeks' Tour

Locks of hair of Percy Bysshe Shelley and of Mary Shelley (19th C) - BL Ashley MS 5022

Locks of hair of Percy Bysshe Shelley and of Mary Shelley (19th C) - B...

Inside front cover of manuscript Above, a lock of Percy Bysshe Shelley's hair, originally belonging to Jane Clairmont, and later bought by T.J. Wise from Buxton Forman. Below, a lock of Mary Shelley's hair, ... More

Mr. O. Smith as the Monster in Frankenstein, frontispiece

Mr. O. Smith as the Monster in Frankenstein, frontispiece

Public domain scan of portrait art print, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. II

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Vol. III

Picryl description: Public domain book page scan, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.