The sentimental Mary Shelley Portrait of English novelist Mary Shelley by Reginald Easton, 1857. (more) Did Mary Shelley Really Have a Piece of Her Husband’s Heart? Written by Leah Rachel von Essen Leah is a copy editor and fact-checker with a decade of experience in the editorial world. Leah Rachel von Essen Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Jan. 30, 2026 •History The myth: Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein (1818) and arguably the inventor of science fiction, kept the preserved heart of her late husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, in her writing desk for the rest of her life. It’s audacious. It’s wild. It’s romantic, in a Gothic kind of way. But is it true? Well, sort of. In July 1822 Percy Shelley was on a boat, the Don Juan, headed to Lerici, Italy, with...

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