Short Fiction

We rely on your support to help us keep producing beautiful, free, and unrestricted editions of literature for the digital age. Will you support our efforts with a donation ? Mary Shelley is best known for her novel Frankenstein , but she also wrote several other works of fiction and nonfiction. This edition contains most of Shelley's works of short fiction, published primarily in periodical and annuals. The stories in this collection deal with themes of love, family, and grief. Shelley's modern reputation rests largely on Frankenstein , but most of these stories don't involve the supernatural at all, instead focusing on more human endeavors and the suffering caused by love and desire. Included in this edition is "Mathilda," a likely autobiographical novella written by Shelley after the death of two of her children, and considered too controversial for publication during her lifetime. Mary Shelley (died 1851) was one of the most distinguished authors of the Victorian age. Their work has endured across generations and continues to be read and studied worldwide. As a work of classic literary fiction, Short Fiction exemplifies the narrative craft and social insight that defined great storytelling of its era. Literary fiction of this period was characterized by careful attention to character psychology, social milieu, and the moral questions that animated public discourse.