• Name: Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (née Godwin)
• Gender: Female
• Birth Date: 30  August  1797
• Death Date: 1  February  1851
• Occupation: writer

In the diary Mary Shelley is denoted by 'MWG', 'children', 'Shelleys' and, mostly, 'MWS'. She is also denoted by the intial 'M' in about 100 instances between 1800 and 1817. These instances are where the context has led us to believe that the initial stands for Mary rather than Marshall for example, 'theatre w. MJ, M and F', 'w. Shelley, M and Peacock'. In the majority of instances we have still taken M to stand for Marshall.

There are some problems in systematically distinguishing Marshall from Mary Shelley. because from Mary's birth, 30 August 1797, to her elopement with PBS, 28 July 1814, Godwin uses M to ref to both Marshall and Mary . She then disappears from the diary and returns at the end of 1816. From 27.5.1817 she is nearly always distinguished as MWS but in the few months from the end of 1816 to May 1817 she is denoted by several different variants: MWG, Mary and M.

T he question of whether an entry is Marshall or Mary is especially difficult in the early years after Mary's birth. It is clear that Godwin sees Mary when she is a child much more often than he registers in the diary. TThe occasions on which she does appear in the diary when she is a child seem to be special outings but it is difficult to assess how frequent these are, and they are deduced largely by the presence of two M entries within a single event. Once Godwin is married to Mary Jane it seems likely that Mary and one or other of Mary Jane's own children might accompany her, suggesting that an entry that includes MJ, and one of F. C, or J (Fanny, Charles or Jane) and an M is more likely to be referring to Mary than top Marshall. The history of tension between Mary Jane and Marshall would reinforce such a judgment; on the other hand, the tension might be because Godwin included him so often!

We have assumed that Godwin and Mary Jane are not likely to include Mary in outings and dinners until she is at least three or four. But we cannot always be confident about this since some of the entries are ambiguous. For example, very soon after MW's death, on 23.9.1797 'E F dines: adv M, F, PV, Ht and Johnson' M has been coded as Marshall rather than Mary – but it could plausibly be Mary. However, we read the diary as suggesting that soon after Godwin begins to restrict entries to Mary to special occasions.

Re: 10 May 1799 'F. Aurengzebe, act 4/2. J White calls: M and L J dine: Astley's, w. Fanny, M, L J and Dibbin' – although it is possible that they take Mary to Astley’s the pattern of links between Louisa Jones and Godwin suggest that he records her presence largely in the absence of the children (assuming that he sees her and the children domestically on a daily basis but does not record them unless there are others present or there is some collective activity, dinner or outing). Also M and LJ feature in the Diary from the beginning of 1797, so well before the birth of Mary and the death of MW.

4.10.1799 'Dine at M's, w. F and M and Fell' This seems possibly to be Fanny and Mary and have been coded as such. Also 11.11.1799 dine at Fell's, w. F and M; adv. M . The following are coded as Marshall, not Mary - making the assumption that Mary is too young to be taken out, and that Marshall takes some interest in entertaining Fanny.

15.11.1799 see 'M dines: theatre, 1/5 Castle Spectre, and Children in the Wood, w. M and Fanny ' - this could be Mary, although she would be only two years old.
14.6.1800 M dines; adv. M Robinson : call on Ritson : Sadler's Wells, w. M, M R, M E R, F and Cha. Willis (This is difficult - the initials are probably MR (Mary Robinson), MER (Robinson's daughter Mary Elizabeth (born 1774), and possibly Fanny.
15.6.1800 tea Fell's , w. F and M.
15.9.1800 Astley's, w. M and F, 1/2 price, Gretna and the Pirate.
6.12.1800 theatre, w. M and F, Paul and Virginia.
14.3.1801 Dine at S E's , w.F and M
30.6.1801 Dine at S E's , w. F and M
15.12.1803 Theatre, w. M J, C, J, miss Mellor and M, Shylock, and Caravan
3.1.1804 theatre, Cinderella, w. M
8.2.1805 dine at H Rowan’s , w. M J, M, C and J : theatre, do , School of Reform, and H Quicksilver
8.8.1807 M, T T, M J, E C, F and C dine at S S - this looks like the family dines at Skinner Street which might indicate Mary rather than Marshall - but we have coded as Marshall because family members are grouped after MJ, while M and TT are outside guests.
25.10.1808 theatre, w. T T, M J and M, Mourning Bride
29.5.1817 meet M and Percy . MWS and S are staying at Godwin's most of the week (although 'Shelley leaves us' on 26.5.1817, so it seems unlikely that the Percy is Shelley.
Also, Godwin mentions only specific events in which they are involved. MWS's diary has Marshall dining on that evening and it seems likely that Godwin dined out and then came home and met Marshall (p.172). MWS's visit to the Godwins lasts from 23 May - 31

The following have been coded as Mary Shelley: 23.6.1809 M J and M for Notting Hill - This is likely to be Mary, especially since the entries two and five days later are coded Mary Dine at Notting Hill, w. 2 Corneys, M J, M and C'; and M J and M at home.
16.07.1809 Dine at L Ht’s , w. M J, M and J
29.01.1817 theatre, w. M J, M and W, Jealous Wife - in Mary Shelley's Journal she notes 'Go to the play - Jealous Wife and the Ravens' (p.157)
May 1817. 20.10.1817 Gig w. Mary - refers to Godwin's stay with the Shelley's in Marlow - MWS records a trip in a gig to see Hampden's monument on 20.10.1817

The above entries do sometimes raise questions about which person the entry refers to. We have assumed that it is not Mary in the years of her babyhood, unless there is a double entry for M (and Marshall may well have had outings with Godwin and Fanny before the arrival of MJ). After the arrival of MJ the presumption would be that M might be Mary if there are other children there and if the event seems a likely one for a young child. Otherwise, we have assumed it is Marshall.

See also the entry on Marshall

The 'Write to M and daughter' (10.5.1817) entry is tricky. MWS's first daughter was born and died in 1815, her second was not born until September 1817. So, if this is a letter to MWS it is likely that the daughter is actually Claire's: Allegra, her daughter by Byron, was born Jan 1817. By May, the Shelleys, Claire and Allegra are all living in Marlow and Godwin and Mary Jane are being kept in the dark over the child - perhaps being led to believe it is Mary and Shelley's, not Byron and Claire's.

Various place names have been coded for SHE01 and SHE02 when Godwin writes letters to Livorno, Lucca, Florence, Napoli during 1818-19. We should find out more about these letters (asking Pam or checking whether they've already been published with Mary Shelley's correspondence) to check whether these letters are just to PBS and MWS, or whether Claire's code (CLA03) should also be added - she was travelling with the Shelleys at this point.

• DNB
• St ClairThe Godwins and the Shelleys
• R. HolmesShelley: The Pursuit(London: Harper Perennial, 2005)
• The journals of Mary Shelley, 1814–1844, ed. by Paula R. Feldman and Diana Scott-Kilvert, 2 vols (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press; Clarendon Press, 1987)

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.

• Name: Imlay, Fanny (Godwin)
• Gender: Female
• Birth Date: 14  May  1794
• Death Date: 9  October  1816

Fanny Imlay was born in May 1794 , the daughter of the unmarried Mary Wollstonecraft and Gilbert Imlay (DNB). After his relationship with Wollstonecraft developed, Godwin assumed a fatherly role, and Fanny bececame attached to Godwin early on (see Janet Todd, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Revolutionary Life). She often accompanied Godwin to lectures and the theatre, and was generally known as ‘Fanny Godwin’ (Locke, p. 217). As an adult, Fanny was prone to depression, ‘and the disastrous circumstances of the Skinner Street household deeply affected her’ – particularly ‘the gloomy house after the elopement of her sisters’ (Marshall, p. 322). Whether because she professed her unrequited love to Percy Shelley, the lover and husband of her half-sister Mary (as has been speculated), or as a result of her recurrent depression, Fanny committed suicide by taking an overdose of laudanum after leaving home of the 7th October 1816. Her letter to Godwin from Bristol stated, ‘I depart immediately to the spot from which I hope never to remove’, and Godwin set out to find her right away, but his search was unsuccessful.

Godwin records Fanny's death as 'Swansea' on the 9th October, 1816. Godwin in his grief wrote a letter of deep regret to Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, expressing his wish to keep the event secret in order to ‘disturb not the silent dead’ (Locke, p. 273).

According to his usual conventions, Fanny is referred to mainly as ‘F’, interspersed with a few somewhat random examples of her name spelled out. She has not been included in Godwin’s mentions of ‘children’, such as ‘5 Children’ in 1807, but perhaps she was too old at that point to be grouped as a child? On her death, the 9th October 1816 he marks, simply, ‘Swansea’ where the body was found – probably written in after the fact. On the 11th October he records the letters to Mary Jane , Percy Shelley and Jane. The entries to 'F G’ in 1799 and 1800 don’t seem to be Fanny, although the miss Marner (w. F G) at tea in 1806 could be. Confusingly, there’s also a ‘sup at F’s’ in 1795 and another in 1800, which means that some of the earlier F’s that have been coded as Fanny could be someone else – possibly Fell?

• DNB
• Locke
• Marshall
• Janet Todd, Mary Wollstonecraft: A Revolutionary Life (2000, paperback edn. London: Phoenix Press, 2001).
• Janet Todd, Death and the Maidens: Fanny Wollstonecraft and the Shelley Circle (London: Profile Books; New York: Basic Books, 2007)

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.

• Name: Clairmont, Charles
• Gender: Male
• Birth Date: 1795
• Death Date: 1850
• Occupation: bookseller
• Occupation: writer

Son of Mary Jane Godwin and Godwin's step-son. Godwin helped with his education and arranged for him to be apprenticed to Constable in Edinburgh in 1811 so as to learn the book trade, in the hope that he might run Godwin's business. He returns to London in 1814. He left England in 1816.

In 1828 Charles returned to England with his family and Godwin recorded visits of the family as 'Cts'. These are accordingly coded as Charles Clairmont.

• DNB, 'Mary Jane Godwin'
• St Clair, p. 395 and p. 477.

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.

• Name: Clairmont, Clara Mary Jane (Claire)
• Gender: Female
• Birth Date: 27  April  1798
• Death Date: 19  March  1879

Jane/Claire Clairmont was the daughter of Mary Jane Godwin, and was Godwin's step-daughter. She accompanied Mary and Shelley when they eloped in 1816, although she later returned to live with Godwin. She and Mary had a complex relationship. She later adopted the name Claire in preference to Jane. She had a child by Byron and a further pregnancy, ascribed by some to Shelley. Her later life was considerably more orthodox, involving long periods as a governess. The diary enters her name as J and Jane after 1802 - prior to then there are undifferentiated references to Clairmonts, but as it is not possible to say whether this includes one or both of her children, and, if the former, which. These, accordingly, have not been coded, but can be searched for under Clairmonts, Cts and Cts. Also, because Godwin does not distinguish clearly between Clairmont's and Clairmonts we cannot be certain that the apparent plural form of Clairmonts necessarly relates to more than Mary Jane. Godwin never adapts to the change from Jane to Claire.

• DNB
• Robert Gittings and J MantonClaire Clairmont and the Shelleys Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1992

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.