Most people know her as the author of Frankenstein. That is just a small part of her story. Mary Shelley was a woman unlike others of her time. She thumbed her nose at convention. She couldn’t be categorized by the ton. By anyone. She was truly unique in ways we’d still find amazing if she did them right now in this century.

How do I know? Because I’ve been studying Mary Shelley for years now. I’ve always known I’d write about her. Not just about her creation- Frankenstein’s monster, but about Mary Shelley the person. The woman who I feel is a real heroine in so many ways. Was she perfect? Absolutely not. She ran away with a married man. She didn’t care what people thought of her love and eventual husband Percy Shelley who was a vegetarian and atheist.  Her family turned their back on her for a time. Friends betrayed her. Percy, who I have tried so hard to like but just can’t, saw other women while they were together.  The only good thing I can say about Percy is that he didn’t underestimate her uniqueness or talent.

Mary kept Percy’s heart after he died. Mary helped a trans couple escape to France to avoid persecution. Mary wrote books beyond Frankenstein. It is believed by some that she was bi-sexual. It is believed by some that there was some inappropriateness to her relationship with her father. How much of that is true? How much of it speculation?

I have read so many books about Mary. Some written by scholars. Some are accumulated correspondence from her contemporaries. A lot is educated conjecture.  The one thing I can say for sure after reading all these books is that Mary Shelley was ahead of her time and completely amazing!

The post Researching Mary Shelley appeared first on Storyteller.

Though often referred to as a “myth” it is actually a fact that Mary Shelley kept her husband, Percy Shelley’s heart, until the day she died.

Percy died in a storm out on a lake. When his body finally washed ashore it was routine to burn bodies that were decomposing. It was considered a health issue. So a pyre was set and Percy’s body set aflame. But, his heart had calcified and it did not burn. It was pulled out of the ash and taken by one of Percy’s friends.

Mary wasn’t there when Percy’s body was found and burned. When she discovered his heart had survived the pyre she insisted it be given to her since she was his wife. Though some back and forth arguing occurred, the friend finally relented and gave Percy’s heart to Mary.

Upon her death, her son found the heart in a desk drawer wrapped in brown paper. She’d kept it all that time.

Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction!

The post Giving…and Getting Your Entire Heart – A Mary Shelley Factoid appeared first on Storyteller.