Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851
- Abstract:
- A collection of letters written by 19th century English novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.
- Extent:
- 2.5 Linear Feet (2 boxes, 1 volume)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
A collection of 139 letters written by Mary Shelley from 1817 to 1849. The majority of the letters are to her stepsister Clair Clairmont (1798-1879), but there are also several letters written to English poet Leigh Hunt (1784-1859) and his wife, Marianne Hunt (1788-1857), and one letter to English publisher and author Charles Ollier (1788-1859). There is a bound volume containing letters from Mary Shelley to British politician, writer, and literary translator Sir John Bowring, from 1828 to 1837, while he was editor of the Westminster Review.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley, British novelist, was born in August 1797 to political philosopher William Godwin and philosopher and women's right advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, who died 11 days after Mary Shelley's birth. In 1801, William Godwin married Mary Jane Clairmont. In 1814, Mary Shelley began a relationship with author Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was already married. After traveling through Europe with Percy Bysshe Shelley, and her stepsister, Claire Clairmont, they arrived back in England. Mary Shelley was pregnant, but the baby, a girl, was born prematurely and died. Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley married in 1816, after his wife died by suicide. The Shelleys would have three more children, with only their son Percy Florence Shelley (1819-1889) living past infancy. In 1818, Mary Shelley published, anonymously, Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus. Her name first appeared in the second edition published in 1821. In 1822, Percy Bysshe Shelley died when his sailboat sank during a storm while they were living in Italy. Mary Shelley returned to England the next year and continued to publish novels until her death in 1851 at the age of 53.
- Acquisition information:
- HM 12874 purchased from Baker sale, 1918. HM 2734-2758 came from the library of Edmund D. Brooks and were purchased from Anderson Galleries in 1919. HM 11631 and 11633 were a gift of Mrs. Ernest Still, February 1930. HM 13209 was formerly laid in The Poetical Works of Coleridge, Shelley, and Keats (108266) and was transferred from Rare Books Department, February 1933. The remainder of the letters were purchased from the Forman sale, March 1920.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Huntington Library staff in the 1930s. In March 2025, Brooke M. Black created the finding aid. This collection includes multiple acquisitions acquired and assembled by Huntington Library staff over many years.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191