Shelley, Mary W.: - English novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is most renowned for her revolutionary book "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus." Shelley was born in London on August 30, 1797. Her parents were feminist author Mary Wollstonecraft and political philosopher William Godwin. Her upbringing was severely impacted by her mother's early death after she was born. When Mary Shelley, her future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and others participated in a storytelling competition in the summer of 1816, famously known as the "Year Without a Summer", she had the idea for her most well-known work, "Frankenstein." "Frankenstein," which was published anonymously in 1818, is regarded as one of the first works of Gothic and science fiction. Tragedies in Mary Shelley's personal life included the passing of her husband and multiple children. Up until her passing on February 1, 1851, she carried on writing, editing, and participating in literary societies. Mary Shelley faced hardships during her lifetime, yet her impact lives on, and she is acknowledged as a trailblazer in the Gothic and science fiction genres.