Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, known as Mary Shelley (1797–1851), was a British storyteller, playwright, essayist, philosopher and biographer, internationally recognized as the author of the Gothic novel “Frankenstein”.

The daughter of philosopher William Godwin and writer Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley decided to leave home at 16 after her mother died. She was very young. She did not do this alone, but together with Percy Shelley, who later became her husband. Percy Shelley was already married and expecting a child when they eloped. They settled in La Spezia, Italy, and Percy’s first wife Shelley committed suicide due to rejection.

The beginning of Frankenstein has an intriguing origin: it arose from a period of isolation with the poet Lord Byron (who was having an affair with his half-sister Shelley), caused by a severe storm in the area where they spent the summer. Byron suggested writing a ghost story as part of the challenge. Thus was born Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus. Mary Shelley was only 20, and upon publication the work became an immediate success among critics and the public. Unfortunately, due to the couple’s imminent departure to Italy in 1814, all of her previously written works were lost.

Shelley left us other works, such as The Last Man and Lodore. She died in her sleep at the age of 53.

Here are some of the most famous quotes from this great writer:

1. “I wish that women would have power not over men, but over themselves.”

2. “Why not swim on these wild but obedient waves? What can stop a person’s determined heart and determined will?”

3. “The wolf dressed himself in sheep’s clothing, and the herd agreed to be deceived.”

4. “I know that you seek knowledge and wisdom, as I once did, and I sincerely hope that the satisfaction of your desires will not become a snake that bites you, as it did for me.”

5. “I swear to you, I would rather remain always ignorant than discover the ingratitude and vice of this dear creature.”

6. “How can one contemplate the torment of a noble mind, suffering, without experiencing deep regret?”

7. “A man who strives to achieve perfection must maintain his serenity and calmness, not allowing passions or random desires to invade his spirit.”

8. “We are bound to prosperity or ruin by weak ties.”

9. “Nothing contributes more to peace of mind than a stable goal—a point on which the soul can fix its intellectual gaze.”

10. “War is the game of a statesman, the joy of a priest, the joke of a lawyer and the profession of an assassin.”

11. “Who can imagine the horrors of my secret labor, when I dallied among the unholy dampness of the grave or tortured a living animal in order to revive lifeless clay? My limbs now tremble at the memory of it and almost become agitated.”