Who was Mary Shelley's mother?

Mary Shelley's mother was Mary Wollstonecraft, the influential English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights.

Wollstonecraft is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, published in 1792. In it, she argued that women were not naturally inferior to men and that apparent differences largely resulted from unequal education. She also wrote novels, children's books, political works, and a celebrated travel narrative.

Mary Wollstonecraft married philosopher William Godwin in 1797. Their daughter, born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, arrived on 30 August that year in London. Wollstonecraft developed a severe infection after childbirth and died eleven days later. As a result, Mary Shelley never knew her mother personally, but she grew up surrounded by Wollstonecraft's books and reputation. Godwin's 1798 memoir of Wollstonecraft helped preserve her memory but also caused controversy by revealing intimate details of her life.

A common mix-up is Mary Jane Clairmont, Wollstonecraft's daughter's stepmother—not her mother. Mary Shelley later became the author of Frankenstein, published anonymously in 1818.