Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley was born August 30, 1797 to Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. The mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was an 18th-century feminist and author of the famous essay “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” (“Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) (1797-1851)”). The father, William Godwin, was a novelist and political philosopher (“Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley”). Although both parents opposed the institution of marriage, they married when Wollstonecraft was five months pregnant with Mary solely so that their child would be accepted into society ("Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) (1797- 1851)"). Mary Wollstonecraft died from complications during childbirth ten days after Mary Shelley's birth. Mary Wollstonecraft also had a child named Fanny Imlay from a previous relationship ("Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) (1797-1851)"). Four years after Wollstonecraft's death, William Godwin married a new wife. Mrs Godwin brought her two children from a previous relationship into the newly formed marriage. Mrs. Godwin preferred her children to Mary and Fanny. The lack of attention Mrs. Godwin gave to Mary made Mary unhappy with her mother-in-law ("Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) (1797-1851)"). Additionally, Mary did not receive as prestigious an education as Mrs. Godwin's daughters. One of Mrs. Godwin's daughters was even sent to a boarding school to learn French, while Mary stayed at home and received no encouragement from her mother-in-law to learn. Although Mary did not receive help from her mother-in-law, "she learned to read from...Godwin and his wife, and followed Godwin's advice that the right way to study was to read two to three books simultaneously" ("Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwi ...... middle of paper......, and "in 1848 she began to suffer from what were apparently her first symptoms of a brain tumor that would eventually kill her” (“Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley”) on February 1, 1851 in London She was buried with her mother and father “Frankenstein: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.” online: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center – Gale High School – GA. February 17, 2011 “Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley”. February 17, 2011. Godwin) (1797-1851). » Discovering Authors Online in Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center – Junior. Gale of wind. St. Francis High School – GA. February 17. 2011