CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF MARY SHELLEY
29 Mar |
Mary Wollstonecraft marries William Godwin in St. Pancras Church, London;
Wollstonecraft has one daughter, Fanny (b. May 1794), by Gilbert Imlay. They live at 29, The Polygon,
Somers Town. |
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30 Aug |
Mary Wollstonecraft gives birth to Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. |
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10 Sep |
Mary Wollstonecraft dies from puerperal fever. |
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21 Dec |
William Godwin marries Mary Jane Vial (also known as Clairmont), who has
two children: Charles and Jane (later called Claire). |
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28
Mar |
Mary Jane Godwin gives birth to William Godwin, Jr. |
|
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William Godwin and Mary Jane Godwin open M. J. Godwin & Co. Juvenile Library. |
|
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The Godwin family moves to the headquarters of M. J. Godwin & Co. at
4 Skinner Street, Holborn. |
|
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M. J. Godwin & Co. publishes Mounseer Nongtongpaw; or the
Discoveries of John Bull on a Trip to Paris, a poem to which MWS
contributes. |
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7 Jun |
MWS goes to Dundee, Scotland, to live with the family of William Baxter,
a friend of William Godwin. There, she forms her first close friendship with
the Baxter's youngest daughter, Isabel. |
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10 Nov |
MWS and Christy Baxter return to London for a visit. |
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11 Nov |
MWS possibly meets P. B. Shelley when he and Harriet dine with the
Godwins. |
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3 Jun |
MWS and Christy Baxter return to the Baxter's home in Scotland. |
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30 Mar |
MWS returns home to London. Isabel Baxter has become engaged to her
former brother in law, 48-year-old David Booth. |
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MWS and PBS possibly meet for the second time. |
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28 Jul |
MWS and PBS elope to France, accompanied by Claire Clairmont. William
Godwin refuses any communication with his daughter for the next two and a
half years. |
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Jul-Aug |
The three take a six-week tour through France, Switzerland, Germany, and
Holland. While in Paris, they leave behind a box of papers. MWS will later
suspect it to contain letters "George Byron" uses to blackmail her
in 1845. |
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13 Sep |
MWS, PBS, and Claire return from Switzerland to London. |
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MWS, PBS, and Claire move to 5 Church Terrace, Pancras. |
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4 Oct |
MWS tries to contact Isabel Booth but is repudiated by David Booth.
Possibly concerned over the illegality of his own marriage to his former
sister-in-law, he refuses to let his wife see MWS. |
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23 Oct-9
Nov |
PBS goes into hiding from his creditors; he and MWS live apart during
this period. |
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MWS, PBS, and Claire move to 2 Nelson Square, Blackfriars Road. |
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14 Nov |
PBS introduces MWS to his Oxford friend, Thomas Jefferson Hogg. Shelley
records in his journal that Hogg is "pleased with Mary." |
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30 Nov |
Charles Shelley born to PBS and Harriet Shelley, their second child. |
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1 Jan |
T. J. Hogg, with Shelley's encouragement, declares his love to MWS. She
reciprocates his affection, but not physically, due to her pregnancy. Shelley
and Claire may also be conducting an affair over the next few months. |
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10 Jan |
MWS, PBS, and Claire move to 4 Hans Place. |
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22 Feb |
MWS gives birth two months prematurely to daughter, Clara. |
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2 Mar |
MWS, PBS, and Claire move to 13 Arabella Road, Pimlico. |
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6 Mar |
MWS's premature daughter Clara dies. |
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Jun-Jul |
MWS and PBS travel through the south coast of Devonshire. |
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[4] Aug |
The couple moves to Bishopsgate, near the east entrance to Windsor Great
Park. |
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24 Jan |
MWS gives birth to a son, William. |
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Apr |
Claire becomes Lord Byron's mistress; MWS meets Byron in London. |
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MWS, PBS, their son William, and a pregnant Claire journey to Italy.
Claire is pursuing Byron, who left England on 23 April. They are in Paris by
8 May, and arrive at the Hotel de Sécheron, Geneva, on 13 May. |
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27 May |
PBS meets Byron, who had recently arrived in Switzerland with his
physician Dr. John W. Polidori. By June 1, MWS, PBS, Claire, and William move
into Maison Chapuis. |
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10 Jun |
Byron rents the nearby Villa Diodati. |
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16-17 Jun |
MWS begins to write Frankenstein. |
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Byron and Shelley undertake a boating tour of Lake Geneva. |
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21-27 Jul |
MWS, PBS, and Claire travel to Chamounix. MWS's description of this
journey, as well as those Shelley made of his previous tour, provides
material for Frankenstein. |
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24 Jul |
MWS's journal entry reads "Write my story"; this is the first
extant written reference to Frankenstein. |
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29 Aug |
MWS, PBS, William, and Claire leave Geneva and return to England,
arriving in Portsmouth on 8 September. Over the next few months, MWS and the
pregnant Claire remain in Bath, residing at Abbey Churchyard, while Shelley
returns to London. |
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9 Oct |
Fanny Imlay commits suicide by overdosing on laudanum. |
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15 Dec |
News reaches PBS that Harriet Shelley had committed suicide. She had been
missing since 9 November, and her pregnant body was found in the Serpentine
river on 10 December. |
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30 Dec |
MWS and PBS marry at St. Mildred's church, London; in urging this
marriage, William Godwin abandons his long silence and reconciles with his
daughter. The Shelleys live with the Hunts and the Godwins over the next
month. |
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12 Jan |
Claire gives birth to her daughter by Byron. She initially names the
child Alba, later changing it to Allegra at Byron's request. Since Claire
remains secluded at Bath, she and the Shelleys are able to keep the child's
existence a secret from almost everyone else, including the Godwins. |
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2 - 8 Mar |
The Shelleys live with Peacock in Marlow. On March 18, they move into
Albion House, Marlow, where Claire and Allegra join them a week later. |
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27 Mar |
A Chancery suit denies PBS custody of his and Harriet's two children,
Charles and Ianthe. |
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14 May |
MWS
completes Frankenstein |
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2 Sep |
MWS gives birth to a daughter, Clara Everina. |
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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: T
Hookham, Jun.; and C. and J. Ollier), written by MWS and PBS, is published
anonymously. |
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1 Jan |
Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (London:
Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, and Jones) is published in three volumes.
Both PBS's publisher, Charles Ollier, and Byron's publisher, John Murray, had
declined to publish the novel. |
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10 Feb |
After selling Albion House at the end of January, the Shelleys and Claire
move to 119 Russell Street, London. |
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The Shelleys, Claire, Allegra, and two servants leave London for Dover to
undertake an Italian journey and arrive in Calais the next day. The party
travels through France, staying in Lyons 21-25 March. They then travel to
Italy and stay in Milan for three weeks in April. |
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28 Apr |
Claire sends Allegra to Byron in Venice. Byron, who wishes to avoid
Claire, only allows her to visit her daughter if she is accompanied by the
Shelleys. |
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7 May |
The Shelleys travel to Pisa, then to Leghorn on 9 May, where they stay at
the Hotel di Malta. In
Leghorn, MWS meets Maria Gisborne. |
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11
Jun |
The Shelleys and Claire move to Casa Bertini, Bagni di Lucca. |
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14 Jun |
MWS writes Walter Scott, who had favorably reviewed Frankenstein
for Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine but had conjectured that PBS wrote the book. She thanks him for
his review and acknowledges herself as the novel's author. |
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17 Aug |
PBS and Claire travel to Venice in hopes of persuading Byron to
relinquish Allegra. Byron refuses, but, believing MWS and the children to be
with them, he permits the Shelleys and Claire to visit the girl at his villa
in Este. On 31 August, at PBS's insistence, MWS and her children quickly
travel to Este. They
arrive on 5 September. |
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24 Sep |
Clara Everina dies in Venice from dysentery she had contracted during the
hurried journey to Este. |
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Sep-Oct |
The Shelleys and Claire remain at Byron's villa in Este. |
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5 Nov |
The Shelley party travels through Ferrara, Bologna, and Rome. After a
week in Rome, they depart for Naples on 28 November, arriving on 1 December. |
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20 Dec |
In her journal, MWS enters "Correct Frankenstein," possibly
correcting the copy that she presented to Mrs. Thomas, an Englishwoman she
met in Genoa, by July 1823. |
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27 Dec |
An infant, registered on 27 February 1819 as "Elena Adelaide"
is born in Naples. PBS and "Marina Padurin" are listed as the
parents. The identity of this child is still a mystery. Some theories claim
the girl was PBS's illegitimate child; other suggest that she was an infant
he planned to adopt in order to replace Clara. The Shelleys leave Naples the next day. |
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5
Mar |
The Shelleys and Claire travel to Rome, moving into the Palazzo Verospi
on 7 March. |
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7
Jun |
William Shelley dies from malaria and is buried in the Protestant
Cemetery. The
Shelleys leave Rome on 10 June. |
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17 Jun |
The Shelleys move to Leghorn. On 24 June, they move to Villa Valsolvano,
near Montenero. |
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Aug - Feb
1820 |
MWS writes Matilda, which she sends to Godwin in 1821. He does not
attempt to get the work published, and it remains unpublished until
1959. |
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The Shelleys and Claire move to the Palazzo Marini, Via Valfonda,
Florence. Claire
leaves for Vienna on 10 November. |
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12 Nov |
MWS gives birth to a son, Percy Florence. |
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The Shelleys move to Tre Donzelle, Pisa. |
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Mar |
MWS begins writing a novel which she calls Castruccio, Prince of Lucca,
although she had first concieved of the story's idea in Marlow. Godwin will later change its title
to Valperga. |
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MWS writes her mythological dramas, Proserpine and Midas. |
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Jun |
Paolo Foggi, the Shelley's former servant whom they had dismissed in
January 1819, and who had married their servant Elise Duvillard, attempts to
blackmail PBS over the mysterious Neapolitan child, Elena Adelaide. Although
his attempts fail, he and Elise do succeed in turning the Hoppners, friends
of Byron and the Shelleys, against the Shelleys by claiming that Elena's
parents were PBS and Claire. On 10 June, Elena Adelaide dies. |
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The Shelleys move back to Bagni di Lucca on 15 June, then relocate to
Casa Prinni, at the Bagni San Giuliano, also known as the Bagni di Pisa, on 5
August, and finally to Casa Galetti, Pisa on 29 October. |
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21 Oct |
PBS's cousin, Thomas Medwin, visits the Shelleys in Pisa. |
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Late Nov |
The Shelleys meet Emilia Viviani, the beautiful daughter of the governor
of Pisa, confined to a convent until her marriage. PBS develops an infatuation and
writes Epipsychidion for her. |
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19 Jan |
The Shelleys meet Edward and Jane Williams, a common-law couple, through
Medwin. Edward Williams and Medwin had served in the army together in
India. |
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5 Mar |
The Shelleys move to Casa Aulla, Pisa. |
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8 May |
The Shelleys return to Bagni di San Giuliano. The Williamses move to
Pugnano, four miles away. |
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Jul |
The first translation of Frankenstein is published in France: Frankenstein;
ou le Prométhée Moderne (Paris: Corréard), translated by Jules Saladin. |
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End of Aug |
MWS finishes Valperga. She corrects and copies the novel through
early December. |
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25 Oct |
The Shelleys move to Tre Palazzi di Chiesa, Pisa |
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Byron arrives in Pisa with his mistress, Teresa Guiccioli. |
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Jan |
After much wrangling with Ollier for an advance, the Shelleys send MWS's
manuscript of Valperga to Godwin for publication, instructing him to
keep the revenue from its sales. He delays publication, however, and it does
not appear until 1823. |
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14
Jan |
Edward John Trelawny, a friend of the Williamses and Medwin, and an
admirer of PBS and Byron, arrives in Pisa. |
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19 Apr |
Allegra Byron dies from typhus in a convent school. |
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The Shelleys and Claire take a summer residence at Casa Magni, San
Terenzo. The
Williamses join them on 1 May. |
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16 Jun |
MWS miscarries and almost dies from the resulting hemorrhaging. |
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1 Jul |
PBS and Edward Williams sail to Leghorn in Shelley's boat, the Don
Juan, to meet the Hunts. On 8 July, they return and, sometime during the
voyage, drown in the Gulf of Spezia. Their bodies are found ten days later. |
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20 July |
MWS, Jane Williams, and Claire return to Pisa. |
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PBS's body is cremated at Viareggio. Williams' body is cremated the day
before. |
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Sep |
MWS and Jane Williams depart to Casa Negroto, Genoa on 11 September. On
17 September, Jane returns to London with a letter of introduction to Hogg.
Claire leaves Pisa on 15 September, going to Florence and then to
Vienna. |
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Sep-Dec |
MWS transcribes cantos 10-12 of Byron's Don Juan. She also begins
to transcribe PBS's poetry in preparation for a posthumous collection. |
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1 Jan |
"A Tale of the Passions" appears in the Liberal, II,
289-325. |
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21 Jan |
PBS's ashes are interred in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome. Attempts to
bury PBS's remains with those of his son are thwarted when an adult skeleton
is discovered in the child's grave. |
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19 Feb |
Valperga: Or, the Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca (London: G and W.B. Whittaker) is published in three volumes. Reviews
of the novel. |
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24 Feb |
Byron sends MWS a letter from Sir Timothy Shelley, PBS's father, who
initially denies MWS support and insists that he will only provide for Percy
Florence if MWS relinquishes custody of him. |
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[23] Apr |
"Madame D'Houtetot" appears in the Liberal, III,
67-83. |
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Jul |
MWS composes her poem, "The Choice." |
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25 Jul |
MWS and Percy Florence leave Genoa for England, arriving on 25 August. |
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28 Jul |
Presumption; or The Fate of Frankenstein, a play by Richard Brinsley Peake, opens at the English Opera House for
a run of 37 performances. MWS sees a production on 28 August. |
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30 Jul |
"Giovanni Villani" appears in the Liberal, IV, 281-97. |
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11 Aug |
A second edition of Frankenstein (London: G. and W. B. Whittaker)
is published in two volumes. The text is probably corrected by William
Godwin, and the title page names "Mary W. Shelley" as the author. |
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18 Aug |
Frankenstein; or, the Demon of Switzerland, a play
by Henry M. Milner, opens at the Royal Coberg Theatre for a run of eight
performances. |
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1 Sep |
Humgumption; or, Dr. Frankenstein and the Hobgoblin of Hoxton, opens at the Royal Coburg Theatre for a run of six performances. |
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Presumption and the Blue Demon opens at
the Davis's Royal Amphitheater for a run of two performances. |
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8 Sep |
MWS and Percy Florence move from the Godwin's residence to 14 Speldhurst
Street, Brunswick Square. Also in September, she reconciles with Isabel Baxter
Booth. |
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20 Oct |
Another Piece of Presumption, by Richard Brinsley Peake,
opens at the Adelphi Theatre for a run of nine performances. |
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27 Nov |
MWS receives an allowance of £100 per year for Percy Florence from Sir
Timothy Shelley. |
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Jan |
"Recollections of Italy" appears in the London Magazine,
IX, 21-6. |
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Feb |
MWS begins writing The Last Man. |
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Mar |
"On Ghosts" appears in the London Magazine, IX, 253-56. |
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Apr |
"The Bride of Modern Italy" appears in the London Magazine,
IX, 351-63. |
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19
Apr |
Lord Byron dies in Greece. MWS sends a tribute to the London Magazine,
but it is never published. |
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Jun |
Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley (London:
John and Henry L. Hunt), a volume of PBS's unpublished poems, is published. MWS
edits the volume and writes a signed preface. On 23 June, MWS learns that a
displeased Sir Timothy Shelley will halt Percy Florence's allowance until she
both stops publication and promises not to publish any more of PBS's writings
in Sir Timothy's lifetime. |
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21 Jun |
MWS and Percy Florence move to 5 Bartholomew Place, Kentish Town, near
Jane Williams. |
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Aug |
Sir Timothy Shelley increases Percy Florence's allowance to £200. |
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13 Dec |
Frank-in-Steam; or, The Modern Promise to Pay opens at
the Olympic Theatre for a run of four performances. |
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Jan |
MWS begins her friendship with Mary Diana Dods, who writes under the
pseudonym "David Lyndsay." |
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Feb |
MWS probably finished a first draft of The Last Man. By November,
1825, she is copying the manuscript. |
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25 Jun |
MWS refuses a marriage proposal from American actor, playwright, and
manager John Howard Payne. |
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23 Jan |
The Last Man(London: Henry Colburn),
"By the Author of Frankenstein," is published in three volumes. |
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10
Jun |
Le Monstre
et le magicien, by Jean
Toussaint Merle and Antoine Nicolas Beraud, opens in Paris at the Théàtre de
la Porte Saint-Martin for a run of 96 performances. A
translation by James Kerr opens at the New Royal West London Theatre on 9
October for an estimated run of four performances. |
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11 Jun |
"Defense of Velluti," a letter that MWS signs "Anglo
Italicus," appears in the Examiner, no. 958, 372-41. |
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3 Jul |
The Man and The Monster; or The Fate of Frankenstein, by Henry M. Milner, opens at the Royal Coberg Theatre for a run of
eight performances. |
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17 Jul |
MWS meets Thomas Moore and agrees to help him compose a biography of Lord
Byron. She works on this project off and on over the next few years, and The
Letters and Journals of Lord Byron: With Notices of His Life is published
in 1830. |
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[5] Aug-3
Sep |
MWS spends a month at Brighton with Jane Williams. |
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14
Sep |
Charles Bysshe Shelley, the son of PBS and Harriet Shelley, dies, making
Percy Florence heir apparent to the baronetcy. |
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Oct |
"The English in Italy," MWS's review of Lord Normanby's The
English in Italy, Continental Adventures, a Novel, and Anna
Browmwell Jameson's Diary of an Ennuyee, appears in the Westminster
Review, VI, 325-41. |
|
Dec |
"A Visit to Brighton," inspired by MWS's August journey,
appears in the London Magazine, n.s. VI, 460-66. |
|
Feb |
MWS establishes a friendship with Isabel, Julia, and Rosa Robinson during
the first of many visits to the Robinson's Park Cottage in Paddington. Isabel
Robinson will later "marry" Mary Diana Dods, who assumes the
identity of "Sholto Douglas." |
|
Spring |
Jane Williams and Thomas Hogg begin living as a married couple.
Afterwards, she calls herself Jane Williams Hogg, even though she is still
legally married to her first husband. |
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May |
Sir Timothy increases Percy Florence's allowance to £250. |
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13 Jul |
MWS records in her journal her discovery of Jane Williams Hogg's
disloyalty. Isabel Robinson had informed MWS of the slanderous stories Jane
has been spreading that vilified MWS as a cold, unfeeling wife. MWS does not confront her until 11
February 1828. |
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[24] Jul |
MWS and Percy Florence join Isabel Robinson and her illegitimate child in
Sompting. They relocate to Arundel on 3 September, and Mary Diana Dods, now
posing as Sholto Douglas, joins them. With the help of John Howard Payne, MWS
assists the Douglases in getting the passports they need to elope to Paris. |
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26 Sep |
MWS writes in a letter to Godwin that she is writing each morning; the
work is presumably The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck. She writes the
novel over the next two years, soliciting information from Godwin, John
Murray, Prosper Mérimée, Thomas Crofton Croker, and Sir Walter Scott. |
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[25] Oct |
MWS returns to London and moves into 51 George Street, Portman Square. |
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25 Mar |
Percy Florence enters Edward Slater's Gentlemen's Academy, Church Street,
Kensington. |
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11 Apr |
MWS visits the Douglases in Paris. She contracts smallpox soon after her
arrival. During her visit, she meets Prosper Mérimée and General
Layfayette. |
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MWS returns to England, remaining in Dover and Hastings through July to
recover from her smallpox. |
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9 Aug |
MWS visits the Robinsons in Park Cottage, Paddington, remaining there
throughout most of the year. |
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[Nov/Dec] |
Two of MWS's stories are published anonymously in the Keepsake for
MDCCCXXIX: "The Sisters of Albano" (80-100) and
"Ferdinando Eboli: A Tale" (195-218). |
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[24]
Dec |
MWS moves to 4 Oxford Terrace, Edgewater Road; Claire Clairmont resides
with her until April, 1829. |
|
Jan |
"Illyrian
Poems--Feudal Scenes," MWS's review of Prosper Mérimée's La Guzla, ou
Choir de Poesies Illyriques recueillies dans la Dalmatie, la Croatie et
l'Herzegowine; and La Jacquerie; Feudal Scenes, followed by the Family
of Carvajal, a Drama, is published in the Westminster Review, X,
71-81. |
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MWS moves to 33 Somerset Street, Portman Square. |
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1 Jun |
Sir Timothy increases Percy Florence's allowance to £300. |
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Jul |
MWS's review, "Modern Italy," appears in the Westminster
Review, II, 127-140. |
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Oct |
MWS's review, "Loves of the Poets," appears in the Westminster
Review, XI, 472-77. |
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Nov-Dec |
MWS copies and revises Perkin Warbeck. |
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[Nov/Dec] |
Three stories by "The Author of Frankenstein" appear in The
Keepsake for MDCCCXXX: "The Mourner" (71-97), "The Evil
Eye" (150-75), and "The False Rhyme" (265-68) |
|
Dec |
The Paris Galignani edition of The Poetical Works of Coleridge,
Shelley, and Keats, a pirated work edited by Cyrus Redding and including
biographical sketches of the poets, is published. MWS had provided Redding
with information on PBS earlier that year. |
|
May |
MWS's review of William Godwin's Cloudesley appears in Blackwood's
Edinburgh Magazine, XXVIII, 711-16. |
|
13 May |
The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck, A Romance (London:
Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley) is published in three volumes. |
|
July |
MWS and Percy Florence spend two weeks at Southend. |
|
Oct |
A review, believed to be by MWS, of Mérimée's 1572 Chronique du Temps
de Charles IX appears in the Westminster Review, XIII,
495-502. |
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[Nov/Dec] |
Two stories by "The Author of Frankenstein" appear in The
Keepsake for MDCCCXXXI : "Transformation" (18-39) and "The
Swiss Peasant" (121-46). In addition, three poems in this volume have
also been attributed to her, although only the first is signed "Mary W.
Shelley": "Absence"(22), "Dirge" (85), and "A
Night Scene" (147-48). |
|
|
MWS anonymously edits and arranges publication for Edward Trelawny's
memoirs, Adventures of a Younger Son (London: Henry Colburn and
Richard Bentley). |
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1 Apr |
William Godwin's novel Caleb Williams is reissued in a one- volume
edition by Colburn and Bentley. MWS writes a biographical sketch,
"Memoirs of William Godwin" (iii-xiii). |
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31 Oct |
The 1831 edition of Frankenstein (London: Henry Colburn and
Richard Bentley) is published as part of Bentley's Standard Novels. the title
page names "Mary W. Shelley" as the author. This one-volume version
includes several revisions, although she claims, in a new Introduction, that
they are "confined to such parts as are mere adjuncts to the story,
leaving the core and substance of it untouched." |
|
[Nov/Dec] |
"The Dream," a story by "The Author of Frankenstein,"
appears in The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXII (22-38). |
|
[Nov/Dec] |
Proserpine, a Mythological Drama in Two Acts, which
MWS had written in 1820, is published in The Winter's Wreath for 1832
(1-20). |
|
Jan |
MWS's review of James Fenimore Cooper's The Bravo appears in the Westminster
Review, XVI 180-92. Because the journal refuses to publish her review of
Edward Bulwer's Eugene Aram, she stops publishing her work in the Review. |
|
[15] Jun |
MWS and Percy Florence spend three months in Sandgate, where they are
joined by Trelawny and his daughter Julia. MWS and Percy Florence return to
Somerset Street on 8 October. |
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21 Jul-25
Aug |
Thomas Medwin publishes his "Memoirs of Shelley" in the Athenæum;
several of the installments mention MWS. |
|
Aug/Sep |
"The Pole," a story written by Claire, edited by MWS, and
erroneously attributed to "The Author of Frankenstein," appears in
the August and September Court Magazine and Belle Assemblée. |
|
William Godwin, Jr., MWS's half brother, dies of cholera. |
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29 Sep |
Percy Florence enters boarding school at Harrow. |
|
[Nov/Dec] |
MWS publishes a poem in The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXIII :
"Stanzas" ("I must forget thy dark eyes' love fraught
gaze") (52). The issue also contains two stories by "The Author of
Frankenstein": "The Brother and Sister: An Italian Story"
(105-41) and "The Invisible Girl" (210-27). |
|
|
"The Smuggler and His Family," by "Mrs. Shelley"
appears in Original Compositions in Prose and Verse(27-53). |
|
May |
MWS moves to Harrow so Percy Florence can become a day-student and reduce
the expense of his schooling. |
|
[Nov/Dec] |
"The Mortal Immortal," by "The Author of
Frankenstein," appears in The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXIV
(71-87). |
|
[Jan] |
Edward Moxon writes MWS to propose an edition of PBS's works. She
responds on 22 January that when "family reasons" no longer hinder
her, she plans to republish her late husband's poems, along with some letters
and prose. She also states that she would not write a biographical sketch of
PBS, but might wish to select a person to do so. |
|
Apr |
The printer misplaces thirty-six pages from Volume 3 of Lodore.
MWS works into early June rewriting them. |
|
[Nov/Dec] |
"The Trial of Love," by "The Author of Frankenstein,"
appears in The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXV (70-86). |
|
|
"The Elder Son," by "Mrs. Shelley," appears in Heath's
Book of Beauty. 1835 (83-123). |
|
Feb |
Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy, Spain,
and Portugal, Vol 1 (of 3) (London:
Longman, Orme, Brown [etc.]), is published as part of The Cabinet of
Biography, Conducted by the Rev. Dionysius Lardner. |
|
7 Apr |
Lodore (London: Richard Bentley)
is published in three volumes and attributed to "The Author of
'Frankenstein.'" |
|
[Oct] |
Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy, Spain,
and Portugal, Vol 2 (London: Longman,
Orme, Brown [etc.]) is published. |
|
[8] Nov |
MWS writes about Falkner to Maria Gisborne. |
|
4
Feb |
Jane Williams Hogg gives birth to a daughter, Prudentia Sarah Hogg; MWS
will become the godmother. |
|
MWS removes Percy Florence from Harrow, employs a private tutor, and
moves with her son to 14 North Bank, Regent's Park. |
||
7
Apr |
William Godwin dies and is buried on 14 April in the St. Pancras
churchyard, close to Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. In his will, he leaves his
manuscripts and letters to MWS with the request that she chose those worthy
to print and destroy the rest. The proceeds of any publications are to
benefit Mrs. Godwin. |
|
19 Jul |
Henry Colburn agrees to pay Mary Jane Godwin 350 guineas for Godwin's
memoirs; MWS begins work on the project, which she never completes. Mrs.
Godwin also received £50 from the Royal Literary Fund and, thanks to MWS's
appeal to Lord Melbourne, £300 from the Royal Bounty Fund. |
|
[10]
Oct |
MWS travels to Brighton to convalesce from a recurring malady. |
|
[Nov/Dec] |
"The Parvenue" by "Mrs. Shelley" appears in The
Keepsake for MDCCCXXXVII (209-11). |
|
2
Feb |
MWS
returns to London. |
|
Feb |
Falkner. A Novel (London: Saunders and Otley)
is published in three volumes; the title page attributes the novel to
"The Author of 'Frankenstein;' 'The Last Man,' &c." |
|
Mar |
MWS moves to 24 South Audley Street. |
|
[Sep/Oct] |
Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy, Spain and
Portugal, Vol 3 (London: Longman, Orme, Brown, [etc]) is published. |
|
10
Oct |
Percy Florence enters Trinity College, Cambridge. |
|
[Nov] |
MWS moves to 41d Park Street, Grovenor Square. |
|
[Nov/Dec] |
"The Pilgrims" appears in The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXIX
(128-55). |
|
[Jul] |
Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of France, Vol 1 (of 2) (London: Longman, Orme, Brown, [etc.]) of The Cabinet
of Biography, Conducted by the Rev. Dionysius Lardner is published. |
|
Aug |
Sir Timothy Shelley permits MWS to publish Shelley's poems, provided that
the works contain no memoirs of his son. MWS gets around this restriction by
writing biographical notes for the poems. |
|
[Nov/Dec] |
MWS publishes two poems in The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXIX:
"Stanzas" ("How like a star you rose upon my life") (179)
and "Stanzas" ("O come to me in dreams, my love!") (201).
The issue also contains a story: "Euphrasia: A Tale of Greece" by
"Mrs. Shelley" (135-52). |
|
Jan-May |
MWS's four-volume edition of Poetical Words of Percy Bysshe Shelley
(London: Edward Moxon), with her preface and notes, is published; she dedicates
the edition to Percy Florence. |
|
[Mar] |
MWS undergoes a period of severe illness, possibly brought about by the
strain of editing PBS's poems. She is frequently ill for the last 10 years of
her life. |
|
[18] Mar |
MWS moves to Layton House, Putney. |
|
[1]
Aug |
Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of France, Vol 2 (London: Longman, Orme, Brown, [etc.]) is published. |
|
Nov |
MWS's one volume edition of Poetical Words of Percy Bysshe Shelley
(London: Edward Moxon) is published. |
|
Dec |
MWS's edition of Percy Shelley's Essays, Letters from Abroad,
Translations and Fragments (London: Edward Moxon) is published in two
volumes. |
|
25 Mar |
MWS moves to 3 The Rise, Richmond. |
|
[5] Jun |
MWS, Percy Florence, and his friends tour the Continent, arriving in
Paris on 22 June. The group travels through Germany and Switzerland, spends
July and August in Cadenabbia, and then proceeeds to Milan, arriving on 11
September. Percy leaves for England with his friends a week later, and MWS
continues to Paris, arriving on 10 October and remaining until the end of the
year. |
|
[11] Jan |
MWS moves to 84 Park Street, London. |
|
Feb |
Percy Florence graduates from Trinity College, Cambridge. Sir Timothy
increases his allowance to £400. |
|
[17] May |
MWS moves to 35 Half Moon Street. |
|
17 Jun |
Mary Jane
Godwin dies. |
|
Jun - 30
Aug, 1843 |
MWS, Percy Florence, and friends tour the Continent again, this time
visiting Kissingen, Berlin, Dresden, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Paris. |
|
Jul-Aug |
MWS visits Claire in Paris, where Claire introduces her to a group of
Italian exiled revolutionaries, including Ferdinando Luigi Gatteschi. |
|
Sep |
MWS moves to White Cottage, Putney. |
|
Sir Timothy Shelley dies; Percy Florence inherits the estate and title. |
||
Jul |
Rambles in Germany and Italy in 1840, 1842, and 1843 (London: Edward Moxon) is published in two volumes. |
|
Sep |
Ferdinando Gatteschi, whom MWS had aided financially and whose writing
she had encouraged, attempts to blackmail her with her letters to him.
Through the help of Percy Florence's friend Alexander Knox, the Italian
police destroy the letters on 11 October. |
|
Oct |
George "Byron," an unknown correspondent who claimed to be
Byron's son, offers to sell MWS several letters written by PBS and herself.
In February 1846, he threatens to publish letters from both PBS and Harriet
Shelley, but is dissuaded when MWS threatens an injunction against the
publication. |
|
[Mar] |
MWS moves to 24 Chester Square, Pimlico. |
|
22 Jun |
Percy Florence marries Jane St. John. |
|
Aug |
MWS, Percy Florence, and Jane move to Field Place. In November, they also
take an apartment in Warwick Square. |
|
May |
Charles Clairmont's daughter, Clara Clairmont, visits MWS at Field Place.
There, she
meets Alexander Knox. |
|
16 June |
Alexander Knox and Clara Clairmont marry; this creates an estrangement
between Claire and the Shelleys. |
|
26 Dec |
Frankenstein; or, The Model Man, by
William and Robert Brough, opens at the Adelphi Theatre for a run of 26
performances. |
|
1 Feb |
MWS dies at age 53 in her home at Chester Square, London. Lady Jane
Shelley arranges for the remains of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin to
be moved from St. Pancras to the churchyard at St. Peters, Bournemouth, and
on 8 February, MWS is buried between her parents. |
|
28 Aug |
Leigh Hunt
dies. |
|
1862 |
21 Aug |
Thomas
Jefferson Hogg dies. |
1879 |
19 Mar |
Claire
Clairmont dies. |
1881 |
13 Aug |
Edward
John Trelawny dies. |
1884 |
Nov |
Jane
Williams Hogg dies. |
1889 |
5 Dec |
Percy
Florence Shelley dies. |
1922 |
|
MWS's drama Midas, which she wrote in 1820, is published in Proserpine
& Midas: Two unpublished Mythological Dramas by Mary Shelley, ed. A.H. Koszul (London: Humphrey
Milford). |
|
MWS's 1819-1829 novel Mathilda, ed. Elizabeth Nitchie (Chapel
Hill, NC: UNC Press), which she wrote in 1819-1820, is published. |
Last Modified on 11 February, 1998
Page created by Shanon Lawson. Any questions or comments, please e-mail swilson@udel.edu.
© http://www.rc.umd.edu/reference/chronologies/mschronology/chrono.html
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© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Lorena Levy Ballester
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