Mary Shelley was an English novelist best known for her groundbreaking work, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, published in 1818. Born on August 30, 1797, in London, she was the daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and famed feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Shelley's writing often explored themes of human nature, creation, and responsibility, marking her as a pivotal figure in the Romantic and Gothic literary movements.