Mary Shelley

popular name: Mary Shelley

date_of_death: February 1, 1851

age: 53

cause_of_death: Brain tumor

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Mary Shelley (1797–1851) was an English novelist, best known for writing Frankenstein, one of the most influential works in the horror genre. She was born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, the daughter of the feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin. Her mother died only 11 days after her birth, leaving her with a strong intellectual legacy and a challenging childhood. In 1814, at the age of 16, Mary began a romantic relationship with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was already married. Despite societal taboos, they eloped to France in 1816, where they faced personal hardships, including the death of their first child. That same year, during a summer spent with Lord Byron at Lake Geneva, she conceived the idea for Frankenstein, which was published in 1818 when she was just 20. Percy Shelley died in 1822 in a drowning accident, leaving Mary a widow with a young son. She continued to write and publish, but struggled financially and emotionally. She wrote novels, short stories, travelogues, and biographies, though none gained the lasting fame of Frankenstein. She also edited and promoted Percy’s works. Mary Shelley died on February 1, 1851, from a brain tumor at the age of 53. She left behind a legacy as a pioneering figure in Gothic literature and a trailblazer for women in literature, particularly through her groundbreaking work with Frankenstein, which explored themes of creation, responsibility, and the human condition. She was laid to rest at St. Peter's Church in Bournemouth UK.

popular name: Elsa Triolet

date_of_death: June 16, 1970

age: 73

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Elsa Triolet was a Russian-French writer and translator. In 1944 Triolet was the first woman to be awarded the Prix Goncourt for her novel 'Le Premier Accroc Coûte 200 Francs' (The First Mishap Costs 200 Francs). The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The melancholy “Le Rossignol se Tait a l'Aulle” (The Nightingale Is Silent at Dawn), published in the spring in her final year, was to be her last novel.

popular name: Oscar Wilde

date_of_death: November 30, 1900

age: 46

cause_of_death: Meningitis following an acute ear infection

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill. Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. Undeniably brilliant, the author, playwright and poet was known for his acclaimed works including 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' as well as his brilliant wit, flamboyant style and infamous imprisonment for homosexuality. Aside from is collective works, he is also remembered for the circumstances of his criminal conviction for gross indecency for consensual homosexual acts in "one of the first celebrity trials" and imprisonment. At the height of his fame and success, while The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) was still being performed in London, Wilde prosecuted the Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency with men. After two more trials he was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labor, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. Today his collective works are considered among the great literary masterpieces of the late Victorian period.