35 moments

1. Birth in Somers Town

   1797-08-30 · Somers Town, London, England, United Kingdom

   

   Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, later Mary Shelley, was born in Somers Town, London. The article's infobox supplies the exact birth date; Somers Town is the specific birthplace named in the biography.

2. Boarding school attendance

   1811-01-01 · Ramsgate, Kent, England, United Kingdom

   Shelley spent six months at boarding school in Ramsgate during her childhood education. No month or school building is specified; coordinates represent Ramsgate.

3. First Baxter stay

   1812-06-01 · Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom

   Her father sent her to stay with radical William Baxter's family near Dundee, a formative Scottish residence. The Baxter house is described only as near Dundee; coordinates represent Dundee.

4. Second Baxter stay

   1813-01-01 · Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom

   Shelley returned to the Dundee area for a further ten-month stay with the Baxter family. The return began in summer 1813; a single-year date is used because the stay extended into 1814.

5. Elopement journey through Paris

   1814-01-01 · Paris, France

   After leaving England with Percy Shelley and Claire Clairmont, Mary travelled through Paris on their Continental journey. The journey followed the 28 July 1814 elopement, but the source does not give a Paris arrival date.

6. Journey reached Lucerne

   1814-01-01 · Lucerne, Switzerland

   Financial difficulty compelled the travelling party to turn back at Lucerne during the 1814 Continental journey. No more precise date is supplied.

7. Declaration of love at St Pancras

   1814-06-26 · St Pancras Old Church, London, England, United Kingdom

   

   Mary Godwin and Percy Bysshe Shelley declared their love at her mother's graveside, shortly before their elopement.

8. Return to England at Gravesend

   1814-09-13 · Gravesend, Kent, England, United Kingdom

   Mary, Percy Shelley, and Claire Clairmont completed the return leg of their 1814 European journey at Gravesend.

9. Residence at Bishopsgate

   1816-01-24 · Bishopsgate, Englefield Green, Surrey, England, United Kingdom

   Shelley was living in the cottage at Bishopsgate when she gave birth to her son William. Coordinates represent Bishopsgate near Windsor Great Park rather than the undocumented cottage site.

10. Arrival at Lake Geneva

    1816-05-14 · Geneva, Switzerland

    Mary arrived at Geneva with Percy Shelley, their son, and Claire Clairmont for the celebrated summer associated with Frankenstein.

11. Frankenstein's conception near Villa Diodati

    1816-06-01 · Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland

    

    During the Geneva summer, Shelley participated in the ghost-story circle near Villa Diodati and began the tale that became Frankenstein. The source locates Byron's Villa Diodati at Cologny; the exact mid-June evening date is not used.

12. Residence in Bath

    1816-09-01 · Bath, Somerset, England, United Kingdom

    On returning from Switzerland, Mary and Percy Shelley moved to Bath with Claire Clairmont. No particular Bath lodging is identified.

13. Marriage to Percy Shelley

    1816-12-30 · St Mildred's Church, Bread Street, London, England, United Kingdom

    Mary Godwin married Percy Bysshe Shelley at St Mildred's Church in Bread Street. The historic church was demolished; coordinates mark its former Bread Street location.

14. Move to Albion House, Marlow

    1817-03-01 · Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom

    The Shelleys moved to Albion House at Marlow, where Mary completed Frankenstein and gave birth to Clara. Coordinates represent central Marlow; the precise historic Albion House location is not established here.

15. Departure for Italy

    1818-03-12 · England, United Kingdom

    Mary Shelley left England for the Italian period of her life with Percy Shelley, Claire Clairmont, and Alba. The departure port is not identified; coordinates are a representative point for England.

16. Stay in Naples

    1818-12-01 · Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

    The Shelleys travelled south to Naples and stayed there for three months.

17. Settlement in Rome

    1819-01-01 · Rome, Papal States

    

    After Naples, the Shelleys settled in Rome, where Mary's writing was interrupted by the death of her son William. The move followed their three-month Naples stay; the exact arrival date is not specified.

18. Residence at Villa Magni

    1822-01-01 · Villa Magni, San Terenzo, Lerici, Italy

    Pregnant Mary moved to Villa Magni near San Terenzo in the summer of 1822, shortly before Percy Shelley's fatal voyage. The source specifies summer but not an arrival month.

19. Year with the Hunt family

    1822-01-01 · Genoa, Kingdom of Sardinia

    Following her husband's death, Shelley lived with Leigh Hunt's family in Genoa while preparing to support herself through writing. The year-long residence extended into 1823.

20. Search at Livorno

    1822-07-01 · Livorno, Grand Duchy of Tuscany

    After Percy Shelley's vessel failed to return, Mary Shelley and Jane Williams rushed to Livorno seeking news of their husbands. The journey occurred after the 8 July 1822 storm; the exact date of arrival is not stated.

21. Search at Pisa

    1822-07-01 · Pisa, Grand Duchy of Tuscany

    Mary Shelley continued from Livorno to Pisa during the unsuccessful search for Percy Shelley after his disappearance at sea. The journey occurred after the 8 July 1822 storm; the exact date of arrival is not stated.

22. Return to her father's home

    1823-07-23 · Strand, London, England, United Kingdom

    Shelley left Genoa for England and stayed with her father and stepmother in the Strand. Coordinates represent the Strand rather than the unidentified Godwin household address.

23. Attendance at Presumption

    1823-08-29 · English Opera House, West End, London, England, United Kingdom

    Shelley attended the first stage adaptation of Frankenstein, Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein. The English Opera House occupied the Lyceum Theatre site; coordinates mark that site.

24. Move to Kentish Town

    1824-01-01 · Kentish Town, London, England, United Kingdom

    Shelley moved to Kentish Town in north London, partly to live near Jane Williams. The source gives only the season, so a year date is used.

25. Visit to friends in Paris

    1828-01-01 · Paris, France

    Shelley contracted smallpox while visiting Isabel Robinson and Mary Diana Dods in Paris, but recovered within weeks.

26. Residence at Harrow on the Hill

    1830-01-01 · Harrow on the Hill, London, England, United Kingdom

    Shelley moved to Harrow on the Hill so her son Percy Florence could attend Harrow as a day scholar. The biography does not specify a move date; 1830 is a conservative approximate placement within Percy Florence's school years.

27. Rest at Baden-Baden

    1840-01-01 · Baden-Baden, Grand Duchy of Baden

    During the 1840 tour, Shelley stopped at the Baden-Baden spa because of severe illness. The source places the stop between June and September 1840 but does not provide a month.

28. Two months at Lake Como

    1840-01-01 · Lake Como, Lombardy, Italy

    After crossing Switzerland, Shelley and her travelling party spent two months at Lake Como. Coordinates represent a central point on Lake Como; the particular villa or settlement is not named.

29. Continental tour begins in Paris

    1840-06-01 · Paris, France

    Mary Shelley began a European tour with Percy Florence Shelley and his friends, travelling first to Paris and Metz.

30. Return through Geneva

    1840-09-01 · Geneva, Switzerland

    Shelley returned to England in September 1840 by way of Geneva and Paris.

31. Visit to Rome on second tour

    1842-01-01 · Rome, Papal States

    On the 1842–43 Continental journey, Shelley visited Rome, toured museums, and repeatedly visited Percy Bysshe Shelley's grave. The source places Rome on the 1842–43 journey but does not state a specific arrival date.

32. Second continental tour departs

    1842-06-01 · Europe

    Mary Shelley and Percy Florence left on a fourteen-month Continental tour with several companions. The departure place is not identified; coordinates are a representative central-European point and should not be treated as an exact departure location.

33. Association with Young Italy in Paris

    1843-01-01 · Paris, France

    At the end of her second Continental journey, Shelley stayed in Paris and associated with Italian exiles of the Young Italy movement. The account situates this Paris stay after the 1842–43 tour; 1843 is used as the supported year.

34. Final residence at Chester Square

    1848-01-01 · Chester Square, Belgravia, London, England, United Kingdom

    

    In her last years, Shelley lived with her son and daughter-in-law at Chester Square as well as at Field Place in Sussex. The statement follows the 1848 marriage of Percy Florence Shelley and Jane Gibson St John; it does not establish a precise move date.

35. Death at Chester Square

    1851-02-01 · Chester Square, Belgravia, London, England, United Kingdom

    Mary Shelley died at Chester Square in London, aged fifty-three.