‘Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.’

When Mary Shelley was a little girl, she used to write stories beneath the trees in her garden. As an adult, Mary was inspired by this same imagination to create a ghost story, which became the famous novel: Frankenstein. Mary was just 18 when she had the idea for Frankenstein and finished it aged 19. The novel was published in 1818, when she was just 21 years old. Mary taught herself many things. Her father did not have a lot of money to spend on her education, but she read a lot and made her own notes. She was also eager to learn from all the famous writers she knew and later wrote and published their biographies. Mary met Percy while she was writing Frankenstein. Percy Bysshe Shelley was an English writer and poet. He used his writing to express new ideas about politics and social justice. Mary and Percy Shelley often wrote together. They inspired each other to be creative by using their writing to challenge new ideas and recognise how powerful knowledge can be.