spirit

It was certain when Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin greeted the world on August 30, 1797, her life was going to be out of step with the ordinary. Her unorthodox parents and family structure ensured this from the beginning. Her father, William Godwin, himself a philosopher-historian, was cold and ever remote. Originally he trained for the Calvinist ministry, but only wore the cloth a few years. A sharp man who ate to excess and borrowed money from anyone who …

…the remainder of their days together happ! y for the most part, and had a son, Percy Florence. Tragically, their time together ended too soon when Percy Shelley drowned in a shipwreck in 1822. Mary was badly shaken, but remained composed and dedicated to her child. After successfully raising him and forcing the publication of the ignored poetry of her husband, Mary Shelley slipped out of life while asleep at the age of fifty-four. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**