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| Display Name | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley |
About Me
| Writing Sample | One of the phænonema which had peculiarly attracted my attention was the structure of the human frame, and, indeed, any animal endued with life. Whence, I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed? It was a bold question, and one which has ever been considered as a mystery; yet with how many things are we upon the brink of becoming acquainted,if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries. I revolved these circumstances in my mind, and determined thenceforth to apply myself more particularly to those branches of natural philosophy which relate to physiology. Unless I had been animated by an almost supernatural enthusiasm, my application to this study would have been irksome, and almost intolerable. To examine the causes of life, we must first have recourse to death. I became acquainted with the science of anatomy: but this was not sufficient; I must also observe the natural decay and corruption of the human body. – from Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus |
| What I Write | As a child, I scribbled; and my favourite pastime, during the hours given me for recreation, was to ‘write stories.’ Still I had a dearer pleasure than this, which was the formation of castles in the air,—the indulging in waking dreams,—the following up trains of thought which had for their subject the formation of a succession of imaginary incidents. – from The Life & Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, by Mrs. Julian Marshall |
| Website | |
| Publications | Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, published January, 1818, by Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones Also: History of a Six Weeks’ Tour (1817) |
Write-a-thon Goals
| Writing Goals | Write. Read Greek. |