By 张凯芳 From Class 1

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley An English Romantic novelist Best known for her novel "Frankenstein; The Modern Prometheus" (1818) Frankenstein has transcended the Gothic and horror genres and is now recognized as a work of philosophical and psychological resonance. Mary Shelley ( )

Mary’s Life  Born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin in Somers Town, London in 1797, second daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin.  Ten days after birth: her mother died of puerperal fever  At the age of ten: published her first poem  1814: met and eloped with Percy Shelley to France  1816: married Percy  : gave birth to 4 children, but only one survived  1822: Percy died, Mary returned to England  1851: Mary died.  Wretched life as Frankenstein and the monster’s.

Writings Books: Mounseer Nongtongpaw; or, The Discoveries of John Bull in a Trip to Paris (London: Printed for the Proprietors of the Juvenile Library, 1808). History of a Six Weeks' Tour through a part of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland, with Letters descriptive of a Sail round the Lake of Geneva, and of the Glaciers of Chamouni (London: Published by T. Hookham, jun., and C. & J. Ollier, 1817). Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (3 volumes, London: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones, 1818; revised edition, 1 volume, London: Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1831; 2 volumes, Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Blanchard, 1833). Valperga: or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca, 3 volumes (London: G. & W. B. Whittaker, 1823). The Last Man (3 volumes, London: Henry Colburn, 1826; 2 volumes, Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Blanchard, 1833). The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (3 volumes, London: Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1830; 2 volumes, Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Blanchard, 1834). Lodore (3 volumes, London: Richard Bentley, 1835; 1 volume, New York: Wallis & Newell, 1835). Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy, Spain, and Portugal, volumes of The Cabinet of Biography, in Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia, conducted by Reverend Dionysius Lardner (London: Printed for Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman and John Taylor, ; republished in part as Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy, 2 volumes (Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1841). Falkner (3 volumes, London: Saunders & Otley, 1837; 1 volume, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1837). Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of France, volumes 102 and 103 of The Cabinet of Biography (London: Printed for Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman, 1838, 1839); republished in part as Lives of the Most Eminent French Writers, 2 volumes (Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1840). Rambles in Germany and Italy in 1840, 1842, and 1843, 2 volumes (London: Edward Moxon, 1844).

The Choice--A Poem on Shelley's Death, edited by H. Buxton Forman (London: Printed for the editor for private distribution, 1876). Tales and Stories, edited by Richard Garnett (London: William Paterson, 1891). Proserpine & Midas: Two Unpublished Mythological Dramas, edited by A. Koszul (London: Humphrey Milford, 1922). Mary Shelley's Journal, edited by Frederick L. Jones (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1947). Mathilda, edited by Elizabeth Nitchie (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1959). Collected Tales and Stories, edited by Charles E. Robinson (Baltimore & London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976). The Journals of Mary Shelley, 2 volumes, edited by Paula Feldman and Diana Scott- Kilvert (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987). Editions: The Last Man, edited by Hugh J. Luke, Jr. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1965). Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, edited by M. K. Joseph (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1969). Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus [1818 text], edited by James Rieger (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1974). Other: Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley, edited, with a preface and notes, by Mary Shelley (London: Printed for John & Henry L. Hunt, 1824). The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, 4 volumes, edited, with a preface and notes, by Mary Shelley (London: Edward Moxon, 1839). Essays, Letters from Abroad, Translations and Fragments. By Percy Bysshe Shelley, 2 volumes, edited, with a preface and notes, by Mary Shelley (London: Edward Moxon, 1840). Letters: Letters of Mary Shelley, edited by Henry H. Harper (Norwood, Mass.: Plimpton, 1918). The Letters of Mary W. Shelley, edited by Frederick L. Jones (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1944). My Best Mary: The Selected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, edited by Muriel Spark and Derek Standford (London: Wingate, 1953). The Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 3 volumes, edited by Betty T. Bennett (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980, 1983, 1988).

Inspiration and Publication  Started in summer in 1816 when Mary joined Percy Shelley and Claire Clairmont in Lord Byron’s home near Geneva (Frankenstein’s hometown).  A challenge set by Byron and Shelley to write the most frightening ghost story  First published anonymously in London in 1818, but more often known by the revised third edition of 1831 under Mary’s own name.

Historical Context 1. The French Revolution and the Rise of Industrialism. The French Revolution: a throwing off of old traditions and customs, inspired romantic writer. In 1815, the English turned their attention to economic and social problems The hands-off philosophy of non-governmental interference with private business led to extremely low wages and terrible working conditions for employees

2. Science and Technology Luddite Movement: Working class protested new machines which took jobs away from them. Because the new machines produced an unparalleled production rate, fiercer job competition, and employers didn’t provide decent wages or working conditions. (Technological development can also be harmful.) Erasmus Darwin: biological evolution, one of the central topics of Mary’s idea for Frankenstein.

Andrew Crosse: galvanism( 流电学 ), or the study of electricity and its applications, bearing resemblance to Frankenstein’s fascination. Andrew Crosse’s lecture fueled Shelley's imagination to suggest Victor Frankenstein's step-by-step invention of the creature in her novel. The idea of bringing life to those who have passed on was a concept being entertained by some of the most intelligent minds at the time. “ …… I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter.” (P833) “I collected bones from charnel house; …… ” (P834)

3. Arctic Exploration Late 1700s: beginnings of a new era of ocean exploration. England's Royal Academy, which promoted the first voyage to the South seas, appealed to scientists and travelers alike. Explorers wanted a trade route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. In 1818 John Ross went searching for the Northwest passage and discovered snow cliffs overlooking Baffin Bay, between Greenland and Canada, reflecting Walton's quest to the North pole and the era of discovery in which Shelley lived. “I have read with ardour the accounts of the various voyages which have been made in the prospect of arriving at the North Pacific Ocean through the seas which surround the pole.” (from P816)

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