The Mortal Immortal
Mary ShelleyAfter drinking an alchemist's unfinished elixir, a lovesick young man begins to outlive everyone he knows.
25 min · Melancholy
Authors / Mary Shelley
Romantic period
Mary Shelley
18 stories in the catalogGothic stories about ambition, grief, supernatural bargains, and isolation.
Mary Shelley (1797–1851) was an English novelist and story writer best known for Frankenstein, published in 1818. The daughter of writers Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, she grew up among debates about education, politics, and individual freedom. She went on to write novels, travel accounts, biographies, and short fiction, and edited the poetry of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, after his death.
Her short stories explore love, grief, ambition, and the consequences of a wish fulfilled. Many appeared in literary annuals such as The Keepsake. “The Mortal Immortal” considers what a life beyond the usual human span might cost, while “Transformation” follows a young man offered a disturbing bargain. Across her supernatural tales and stories of family conflict, Shelley examines how isolation and the need for affection influence people's choices.
More time with Mary Shelley.
From a quick encounter to a longer story.
The Invisible Girl
Mary ShelleyA grieving traveler follows an unexplained beacon to an abandoned Welsh tower.
26 min · Eerie
Transformation
Mary ShelleyExiled by his own pride, a reckless nobleman accepts a stranger's miraculous bargain.
32 min · Chilling
A Tale of the Passions
Mary ShelleyA young emissary enters hostile Florence with a plea that could alter a kingdom's fate.
54 min · Tragic
Euphrasia
Mary ShelleyA reckless English volunteer joins Greek fighters and survives a battle beside their grieving young leader.
25 min · Tragic
Ferdinando Eboli
Mary ShelleyA Neapolitan officer's secret mission makes him a stranger to everyone he loves.
32 min · Suspenseful
The Brother and Sister
Mary ShelleyA banished young Sienese entrusts his sister to the rival who toppled their family.
53 min · Melancholy
The Dream
Mary ShelleyAn embattled French countess seeks a dream that will decide whether she can forgive the man she loves.
25 min · Romantic
The Elder Son
Mary ShelleyAn orphaned heiress's secret promise entangles her with two brothers divided by inheritance.
47 min · Foreboding
The Evil Eye
Mary ShelleyA feared Albanian bandit carries a child across the mountains, leaving a family to chase a terrifying rumor.
35 min · Adventurous
The False Rhyme
Mary ShelleyA king's cruel rhyme inspires his sister to prove a missing lady's fidelity.
5 min · Playful
The Heir of Mondolfo
Mary ShelleyA despised prince secretly marries the peasant woman who restores his faith in the world.
56 min · Suspenseful
The Mourner
Mary ShelleyA prosperous man guards a grave whose story begins with a runaway schoolboy and a haunted young woman.
37 min · Melancholy
The Parvenue
Mary ShelleyA poor steward's daughter marries the lord who saved her from a burning home.
17 min · Melancholy
The Pilgrims
Mary ShelleyTwo young pilgrims seek shelter with a Swiss baron haunted by the daughter he drove away.
40 min · Solemn
The Pole
Mary ShelleyA Polish exile in Naples finds love while carrying papers that could imperil an empire.
55 min · Suspenseful
The Sisters of Albano
Mary ShelleyTwo devoted sisters face the terrible cost of loving an outlaw.
28 min · Tragic
The Swiss Peasant
Mary ShelleyA Swiss orphan torn between gratitude and love must reckon with a revolution gathering in her valley.
36 min · Romantic