In case you missed it the first time, she created modern science fictionĮight years after Frankenstein, Mary published the post-apocalyptic science fiction novel The Last Man (1826). In establishing that her fictional extrapolations about galvanism and the spark of life rested on firm scientific foundations, and then going on to explore in depth what it means to be human - because you and I are Frankenstein’s Creature, dear readers - Shelley gave birth to modern science fiction.ģ. Darwin, and some of the physiological writers of Germany, as not of impossible occurrence.” Mary Shelley neatly flipped that formula and prefaced Frankenstein by noting that the “event on which this fiction is founded has been supposed, by Dr. In the Gothic literature that preceded modern science fiction, authors such as Ann Radcliffe perfected the technique of “the Gothic explained.” They depicted sensational, apparently supernatural events, played on readers’ emotions, and waited until the end to explain how every seemingly fantastic twist and turn had a rational explanation. Proto-science fiction is as old as antiquity. You can read my thoughts on the book here: “ Feminism, Frankenstein, and Freedom.” Wollstonecraft also explored her philosophical ideas through fiction in fact, Charlotte Gordon’s 2015 dual biography, Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley, convincingly argues that Wollstonecraft’s ideas and works had a profound impact on her daughter, an influence that critics largely have overlooked. Mary’s mother was the path-breaking, classical-liberal feminist theorist Mary Wollstonecraft, best known for her A Vindication of the Rights of Women. He also effectively showed how an author could use fiction to explore his political and social concerns, yielding the first English-language mystery novel, Things as They Are or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams.

Mary’s father was the pioneering anarchist philosopher William Godwin, the author of An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, among many other works. She was literally born out of the liberty movement Here are 5 reasons why we should remember and celebrate Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and her work.ġ. This year, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s pioneering novel, Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus, turns 203 years old.

The Mummy! by Jane C. Webb Loudon