Mary Shelley

Queens Podcast

Comedy, History

4.5 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2026

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today we’re diving into the wildly dramatic life of Mary Shelley, the mother of science fiction and the ultimate OG Goth Girl. From radical feminist and revolutionary parents, to graveyard hookups, to the stormy summer that gave us Frankenstein, Mary’s life was just as haunting as her work. In this episode, we unpack how Mary Shelley’s grief, genius, and chaotic social circle shaped one of the most influential novels of all time and how she remained quietly radical long after the world tried to tame her. In this episode, we cover: Mary Shelley’s radical upbringing and goth childhood Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and the messiest friend group imaginable The true origins of Frankenstein Grief, motherhood, and loss Mary Shelley’s underrated radical legacy Time stamps: 00:00 Introduction and New Year Greetings 03:26 Mary Shelley's Early Life and Family 04:37 Mary Wollstonecraft & William Godwin: Radical Parents 16:53 Teenage Years in Scotland (Emotional Glow-Up) 19:43 Percy Shelley has entered the chat 24:09 The Graveyard Scene & Running Away 31:53 Return to England and Family Rejection 36:58 The Birth of Frankenstein 47:26 Loss, Grief & Moving to Italy 54:14 Mary Shelley's Later Life and Legacy Queens podcast is part of Airwave Media podcast network. Please get in touch with advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Want more Queens? Head to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, check out our⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ merch store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Never miss a Queens Podcast happening! Sign up for our newsletter: https://eepurl.com/gZ-nYf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:04.6	Right, that's it. Come on. Lights out. You've got to test tomorrow.
0:07.3	Just two minutes. I'm about to reach the next level.
0:10.0	It's going off now. Yeah, whatever.
0:12.5	Let's see. Where's the app? Oh, here it is.
0:15.6	What? How?
0:16.9	Oh, no. You're out. Better look next time.
0:19.6	Mom!
0:20.7	It's game over for late nights on school nights.
0:22.6	E.E. Wi-Fi controls help you get them off the Wi-Fi and into bed.
0:26.6	More parents are choosing EE broadband, the UK's fastest growing broadband provider.
0:31.6	To verify I see E.e.com.
0:33.6	Hi, this is Katie.
0:35.6	And this is Nathan. And you're listening to Queens podcast, the show about women in history.
0:58.4	Hello, Nathan.
1:04.0	This is our first episode of 2026.
1:09.0	Yay, may 20206 not be the dumpster fire of 2025.
1:10.9	But you know what?
1:16.2	We've got a kind of sad one that we're starting 2026 off with.
1:22.2	But a couple of months ago, the new Frankenstein came out.
1:27.2	And it's up for like all these awards at the Golden Globes. And the goth girl era is just really having a resurgence.
1:32.3	So we couldn't not in 2026 talk about the queen, the mother of the genre.
	...

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