Mary Shelley
Spine number 01
History of a Six Weeks’ Tour
Journeys through France, Switzerland, Germany and Holland become occasions to observe landscapes, ruined towns and the practical discomforts of travel. This whole collaborative volume combines Mary and Percy Shelley’s journal and letters with Percy’s reflective poem Mont Blanc. Published in 1817, it draws on their travels of 1814 and 1816; its travel testimony and meditative verse are treated here as nonfiction.
1817 · book · Non-fiction · Collaboration
Spine number 02
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
Victor Frankenstein discovers how to give life to a being assembled by his own hands, then recoils from the responsibilities of his achievement. Letters and competing personal accounts ask the reader to judge both the creator and his abandoned creation. Written in 1816–1817, the novel appeared anonymously in 1818 and was substantially revised for the 1831 edition.
1818 · book · Fiction
Spine number 03
Valperga; or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca
In fourteenth-century Italy, Castruccio’s pursuit of power brings him into conflict with Euthanasia, the countess who loves him but values the freedom of her community. Shelley combines the career of a historical ruler with invented lives that expose the costs of conquest. Published in 1823, the novel gives political principle and private affection equally difficult claims on its characters.
1823 · book · Fiction
Spine number 04
The Last Man
Lionel Verney looks back on friendship, love and political ambition in a future Europe increasingly threatened by plague. The novel takes its time establishing a circle of lives before asking how people might carry on when their shared world becomes insecure. Published in 1826, it brings the scale of an imagined catastrophe into intimate contact with grief.
1826 · book · Fiction
Spine number 05
The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck
A young claimant to the English throne seeks recognition as Richard, Duke of York, while Henry VII works to secure his rule. Shelley’s historical romance treats the disputed claimant as a genuine prince, placing loyalty and belonging within the machinery of dynastic politics. Published in 1830, it asks what happens to private lives when identity becomes a matter of state.
1830 · book · Fiction
Spine number 06
Transformation
Proud, impoverished Guido encounters a stranger who offers wealth in exchange for a temporary change of bodies. His account turns a supernatural bargain into a story about self-command, resentment and the difficulty of recognising one’s own faults. The story appeared late in 1830 in The Keepsake dated 1831.
1830 · short story · Fiction
Spine number 07
Proserpine
Ceres searches for her missing daughter while the familiar world of flowers and harvest gives way to separation and uncertainty. Written in 1820, this verse drama retells the classical myth through the experience of mother and daughter. It first appeared in shortened form late in 1831 in The Winter’s Wreath for 1832; the fuller manuscript version includes lyrics by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
1831 · play · Fiction · Collaboration
Spine number 08
The Mortal Immortal
Winzy, an alchemist’s assistant, drinks a mysterious preparation while tormented by love and jealousy. Recounting his experience centuries later, he considers whether prolonged life can offer happiness when the people around him remain mortal. The story first appeared late in 1833 in The Keepsake dated 1834.
1833 · short story · Fiction
Spine number 09
Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy, Spain, and Portugal
European writers and thinkers emerge through accounts of their education, work, friendships and encounters with political authority. Shelley contributed most of these biographies, alongside work by James Montgomery and David Brewster, to Dionysius Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia. This entry covers the whole three-volume publication of 1835–1837, rather than Shelley’s contributions alone.
1835–1837 · collection · Non-fiction · Collaboration
Spine number 10
Lodore
Ethel has grown up under her father’s protection, far from the mother from whom he is estranged. As she enters a wider social world, questions of money, marriage and education test the habits of dependence she has learned. Published in 1835, this domestic novel places her experience beside the different choices of Cornelia and the intellectually independent Fanny Derham.
1835 · book · Fiction
Spine number 11
Falkner
The orphan Elizabeth Raby finds a home with Rupert Falkner, a man troubled by a past he cannot easily disclose. Her growing attachment to Gerald Neville brings competing loyalties into a story of family, accusation and the possibility of forgiveness. Published in 1837, Shelley’s final completed novel asks how affection can survive a demand for judgement.
1837 · book · Fiction
Spine number 12
Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of France
These literary biographies follow French authors through the institutions, friendships and controversies that shaped their work. Shelley brings together accounts of lives and critical discussion of writing for readers seeking an introduction to French literature. This entry covers both volumes issued in 1838–1839 for Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia, including the contributions by other hands.
1838–1839 · collection · Non-fiction · Collaboration
Spine number 13
Rambles in Germany and Italy in 1840, 1842, and 1843
Travelling with her son and his friends, Shelley describes European cities, mountain routes, paintings and the people she meets. Memories of her earlier life in Italy accompany observations on the country’s political condition and hopes for freedom. Published in two volumes in 1844, the book combines a traveller’s curiosity with reflection on loss and renewed companionship.
1844 · book · Non-fiction
Spine number 14
Midas
King Midas’s judgements about music and wealth become the subjects of a comic verse drama drawn from classical myth. The wish to possess more than he needs gives Shelley a way to explore the limits of royal judgement and material desire. Written in 1820 with songs by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the play first appeared in A. H. Koszul’s 1922 edition of Proserpine and Midas.
1922 · play · Fiction · Posthumous · Collaboration
Spine number 15
Mathilda
A young woman living in seclusion addresses an account of her life to a sympathetic friend. Her story circles around a disturbing reunion with her father and the difficulty of finding companionship after profound emotional injury. Written in 1819–1820, the novella remained unpublished until Elizabeth Nitchie’s edition of 1959.
1959 · novella · Fiction · Posthumous
Spine number 16
Maurice; or, The Fisher’s Cot
A boy seeking a home and a traveller carrying his own history of loss meet in a coastal community. Their encounters make a quiet story about kindness, family separation and the hope of belonging. Written in 1820 for Laurette Tighe, it was first published in 1998 after the manuscript was rediscovered in Italy the previous year.
1998 · short story · Fiction · Posthumous
Start with Shelley’s best-known novel, or approach her through a short supernatural tale or a historical romance. These routes lead towards her wider questions about responsibility, freedom and the need for other people.
Where to begin
Start here
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
The alternating voices make this a useful introduction to Shelley’s way of testing sympathy: each speaker offers reasons to be heard without settling the reader’s judgement. Allow room for the letters, journeys and reflective passages as well as the moments of horror; they give the central encounter much of its force.
Not yet in our collection
For a shorter introduction
The Mortal Immortal
This compact tale brings Shelley’s interest in forbidden knowledge into an intimate, conversational form. Its uneasy mixture of humour, longing and loneliness makes a good choice if you want to try her storytelling before a longer novel.
Not yet in our collection
For historical fiction
Valperga; or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca
Choose this if the conflict between personal loyalty and political freedom interests you more than a supernatural premise. The medieval setting asks for some patience with rival factions, but Euthanasia’s position gives those disputes a clear emotional centre.
Not yet in our collection
Read next
The Last Man
Move here for a longer, more elegiac account of the ties that hold people together. The opening attention to friendship and politics matters to the later crisis, so it rewards reading as a novel of relationships as well as an imagined future.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1817
History of a Six Weeks’ Tour
book · Collaboration
Journeys through France, Switzerland, Germany and Holland become occasions to observe landscapes, ruined towns and the practical discomforts of travel. This whole collaborative volume combines Mary and Percy Shelley’s journal and letters with Percy’s reflective poem Mont Blanc. Published in 1817, it draws on their travels of 1814 and 1816; its travel testimony and meditative verse are treated here as nonfiction.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1818
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
book
Victor Frankenstein discovers how to give life to a being assembled by his own hands, then recoils from the responsibilities of his achievement. Letters and competing personal accounts ask the reader to judge both the creator and his abandoned creation. Written in 1816–1817, the novel appeared anonymously in 1818 and was substantially revised for the 1831 edition.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1823
Valperga; or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca
book
In fourteenth-century Italy, Castruccio’s pursuit of power brings him into conflict with Euthanasia, the countess who loves him but values the freedom of her community. Shelley combines the career of a historical ruler with invented lives that expose the costs of conquest. Published in 1823, the novel gives political principle and private affection equally difficult claims on its characters.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1826
The Last Man
book
Lionel Verney looks back on friendship, love and political ambition in a future Europe increasingly threatened by plague. The novel takes its time establishing a circle of lives before asking how people might carry on when their shared world becomes insecure. Published in 1826, it brings the scale of an imagined catastrophe into intimate contact with grief.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1830
The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck
book
A young claimant to the English throne seeks recognition as Richard, Duke of York, while Henry VII works to secure his rule. Shelley’s historical romance treats the disputed claimant as a genuine prince, placing loyalty and belonging within the machinery of dynastic politics. Published in 1830, it asks what happens to private lives when identity becomes a matter of state.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1830
Transformation
short story
Proud, impoverished Guido encounters a stranger who offers wealth in exchange for a temporary change of bodies. His account turns a supernatural bargain into a story about self-command, resentment and the difficulty of recognising one’s own faults. The story appeared late in 1830 in The Keepsake dated 1831.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1831
Proserpine
play · Collaboration
Ceres searches for her missing daughter while the familiar world of flowers and harvest gives way to separation and uncertainty. Written in 1820, this verse drama retells the classical myth through the experience of mother and daughter. It first appeared in shortened form late in 1831 in The Winter’s Wreath for 1832; the fuller manuscript version includes lyrics by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1833
The Mortal Immortal
short story
Winzy, an alchemist’s assistant, drinks a mysterious preparation while tormented by love and jealousy. Recounting his experience centuries later, he considers whether prolonged life can offer happiness when the people around him remain mortal. The story first appeared late in 1833 in The Keepsake dated 1834.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1835–1837
Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy, Spain, and Portugal
collection · Collaboration
European writers and thinkers emerge through accounts of their education, work, friendships and encounters with political authority. Shelley contributed most of these biographies, alongside work by James Montgomery and David Brewster, to Dionysius Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia. This entry covers the whole three-volume publication of 1835–1837, rather than Shelley’s contributions alone.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1835
Lodore
book
Ethel has grown up under her father’s protection, far from the mother from whom he is estranged. As she enters a wider social world, questions of money, marriage and education test the habits of dependence she has learned. Published in 1835, this domestic novel places her experience beside the different choices of Cornelia and the intellectually independent Fanny Derham.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1837
Falkner
book
The orphan Elizabeth Raby finds a home with Rupert Falkner, a man troubled by a past he cannot easily disclose. Her growing attachment to Gerald Neville brings competing loyalties into a story of family, accusation and the possibility of forgiveness. Published in 1837, Shelley’s final completed novel asks how affection can survive a demand for judgement.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1838–1839
Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of France
collection · Collaboration
These literary biographies follow French authors through the institutions, friendships and controversies that shaped their work. Shelley brings together accounts of lives and critical discussion of writing for readers seeking an introduction to French literature. This entry covers both volumes issued in 1838–1839 for Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia, including the contributions by other hands.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1844
Rambles in Germany and Italy in 1840, 1842, and 1843
book
Travelling with her son and his friends, Shelley describes European cities, mountain routes, paintings and the people she meets. Memories of her earlier life in Italy accompany observations on the country’s political condition and hopes for freedom. Published in two volumes in 1844, the book combines a traveller’s curiosity with reflection on loss and renewed companionship.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1922
Midas
play · Posthumous · Collaboration
King Midas’s judgements about music and wealth become the subjects of a comic verse drama drawn from classical myth. The wish to possess more than he needs gives Shelley a way to explore the limits of royal judgement and material desire. Written in 1820 with songs by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the play first appeared in A. H. Koszul’s 1922 edition of Proserpine and Midas.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1959
Mathilda
novella · Posthumous
A young woman living in seclusion addresses an account of her life to a sympathetic friend. Her story circles around a disturbing reunion with her father and the difficulty of finding companionship after profound emotional injury. Written in 1819–1820, the novella remained unpublished until Elizabeth Nitchie’s edition of 1959.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1998
Maurice; or, The Fisher’s Cot
short story · Posthumous
A boy seeking a home and a traveller carrying his own history of loss meet in a coastal community. Their encounters make a quiet story about kindness, family separation and the hope of belonging. Written in 1820 for Laurette Tighe, it was first published in 1998 after the manuscript was rediscovered in Italy the previous year.
Not yet in our collection
Mary Shelley was an English novelist, short-story writer and biographer whose fiction asks what people owe to those they create, love or govern. In Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), a scientist’s ambition meets the claims of the living being he has brought into the world. Her writing ranges from Gothic encounters and imagined futures to historical novels and domestic stories, returning to questions of responsibility, exclusion and the limits of sympathy.
Born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin in London on 30 August 1797, she was the daughter of the writers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. She married the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1816, the year she began Frankenstein near Lake Geneva. After his death in 1822, she continued her own literary career and edited his poetry, adding notes that helped preserve the circumstances of its composition.
Her other novels include Valperga (1823), which sets personal loyalties against political ambition in medieval Italy, The Last Man (1826), an account of a future devastated by plague, and Lodore (1835), which examines family dependence and women’s education. Travel books and biographies of European writers reveal her interests beyond fiction. She died in London on 1 February 1851; Mathilda, written decades earlier, did not reach print until 1959.