NEXT UP! 1 78 Mary Godwin (1797–1851), later known as Mary Shelley, was born in England in 1797. Her father, William Godwin, was a famous political philosopher. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was a well known advocate for women’s rights, but she died right after giving birth to Mary. Mary married the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who later died during a sailing accident. Mary Shelley and Frankenstein’s monster People have always liked scary stories. One of the most famous horror stories is Frankenstein. In this novel, we meet Dr Frankenstein, a Swiss scientist. He creates a monster from dead people’s body parts. By using chemistry and electricity, he manages to give his monster life. However, he does not realise what the consequences will be, and soon his monster has a mind and a will of its own. Frankenstein’s monster may be familiar to you. But have you heard how one of the world’s most famous horror stories came about? In the summer of 1816, the rebellious nineteen-year-old, Mary Godwin, fled to Switzerland with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was already married to another woman. They met up with friends at Lake Geneva and stayed there for the summer. The weather was terrible that summer. In the evenings, they gathered in the living room, lit candles and told stories to entertain each other. Then one evening, one of them came up with the idea of having a writing Before reading Consider: Why do you think people invent horror stories? Freewrite for a couple of minutes. an advocate – talsmaður horror – hryllingur a novel – skáldsaga Swiss – Svissneskur a scientist – vísindamaður to manage – að takast to realise – að átta sig á a mind – hugur familiar – kunnuglegur to come about – að verða til rebellious – uppreisnargjarn to gather – að koma saman lit (to light) – kveiktu
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