Drew University Unveil Unpublished Biographical Notes on Mary Shelley

The Drew University Archives and Special Collections has unveiled a new collection of previously unpublished works about Frankenstein author Mary Shelley.

The collection is part of the Archives’ Byron Society Collection, which is celebrating digitization this month. In addition to the current exhibit, Lord Byron’s Travels Through Life and Beyond, Special Collections has digitized and made available more than 200 hundred objects in their new collection on Jstor, and created a website for research within these collections.

“This is an exhilarating time for Byron scholarship as the range and diversity of the artifacts in this collection emphasize the significance of Byron's contributions to the literary world and his enduring influence on the material culture of his time and for 200 years after his death,” said Candace Reilly, manager of Special Collections. 

A major highlight of this new digitization is the unpublished works of Mary Shelley scholar Betty T. Bennett who died before publishing her biography of Shelley.

With permission from Bennett’s son, Drew will make available Bennett’s unpublished monograph and chapter notes on Shelley. Reilly says she “hopes this act honors Dr. Betty T. Bennett and her work, and promotes the accessibility of Bennett’s extraordinary scholarship.”