Mary Shelley

Birth Name:
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin
Birth Date:
August 30, 1797
Birth Place:
Somers Town, London
Death Date:
February 1, 1851
Place of Death:
Chester Square, London
Age:
53
Cause of Death:
Suspected brain tumor
Cemetery Name:
St Peter's Church, Bournemouth
Claim to Fame:
Writers and Poets
Mary Shelley was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein (also called The Modern Prometheus 1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin and her mother was the philosopher and feminist activist Mary Wollstonecraft.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

St Peter's Church, Bournemouth

2 Upper Hinton Rd

Bournemouth, Dorset, BH1 2EE

United Kingdom

North America

Grave Location:

Shelly Family Tomb

Grave Location Description

Mary Shelley’s grave is located about 78 feet southeast of main St. Peter’s Church building on the paved walkway, and is visible from the church.

Grave Location GPS

50.720294, -1.874883

Visiting The Grave:

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

Read More About Mary Shelley:

Videos Featuring Mary Shelley:
10 Shocking Facts About Mary Shelley - The Scandalous True Story of the Author of Frankenstein
Frankenstein Author Carried Around Her Dead Husband's Heart
200 Years Later: Things You Might Not Know About Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Ten Things You Should Know about Frankenstein
Mary Shelley - The First Female Futurist
Mary Shelley: The Birth of Frankenstein
In Search of Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley: A Biography

See More:

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.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

popular name: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

date_of_death: July 7, 1930

age: 71

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Over 125 years after his creation, Sherlock Holmes remains the most popular fictional detective in history. Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for the 60 stories he wrote about Sherlock Holmes. His body of work includes nearly 200 novels, short stories, poems, historical books and pamphlets.

C. S. Forester

popular name: C. S. Forester

date_of_death: April 2, 1966

age: 66

cause_of_death: Decline from heart attack and stroke

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: C.S. Forester is best known for his Horatio Hornblower series, 12 novels set during the Napoleonic Wars that track the adventures and the growth of a young Englishman in the Royal Navy. By 1937, he was well on the way to success with the publication of his first novel in the series. Another of his best-known works, The African Queen, was one of the many of his works that inspired screenplays—for both movies on the big screen and for television—that included some based on the Hornblower novels. Forester also wrote plays and children’s books, and, early in his career, he made contributions to the emerging genre of crime fiction. His masterpiece of suspense, Payment Deferred, foreshadowed the works of later practitioners of mystery fiction. Five biographies, some histories, and an early autobiography were also part of his varied output.

Back to Top