Mary Shelley Mary Shelley ( born Mary Godwin ) was a 19th century English writer who pioneered what later became known as science fiction , composing the science - based horror story " Frankenstein , or The Modern Prometheus " , and the future history " The Last Man " . Shelley ' s circle of friends included poet Lord Byron and John Polidori , who was one of the first to write about vampires . She was married to Byron ' s close friend and fellow Romantic poet Percy Shelley . She was also a companion of the Eighth Doctor . Appearance . Mary had hazel eyes , flecked with green . ( AUDIO : " The Silver Turk " ) Biography . Mary was born in 1797 . ( AUDIO : " The Silver Turk " ) Her maiden name was Godwin . ( AUDIO : " The Witch from the Well " ) She had a stepsister Claire Clairmont . ( AUDIO : " Mary ' s Story " ) When Mary was 16 , Percy Shelley abandoned his wife and child for her . ( AUDIO : " Mary ' s Story " ) Mary had a child . ( AUDIO : " The Witch from the Well " ) Mary left her Bishopsgate home in Windsor , England ( AUDIO : " The Silver Turk " ) and travelled to Switzerland , where Percy Shelley , Lord Byron , John Polidori , Claire Clairmont and she stayed at Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva . ( AUDIO : " Mary ' s Story " ) Although Percy and Mary Shelley referred to each other as husband and wife , they were not yet officially married at the time . ( AUDIO : " Mary ' s Story " ) The Eighth Doctor mentioned that he and Professor Chronotis spent time near Lake Geneva with Mary and Byron . ( WC : " Shada " , AUDIO : " Shada " ) In June 1816 , at Villa Diodati the 18 - year - old Mary encountered two versions of the Eighth Doctor simultaneously . The older of the two versions introduced himself as Dr Frankenstein . When this older version appeared to have died Percy suggested to make an experiment with lightning on the Doctor ' s body , modelled after the experiments of signor Galvani on frog s . During the experiment , Percy called himself " the modern Prometheus " . This experience , as well as Mary ' s later travels with the Doctor , must have influenced her science based horror story " Frankenstein , or The Modern Prometheus " . After the younger version of the Doctor has helped the older one to recover , Mary left her future husband and their friends and spent years travelling with the younger version of the Doctor . ( AUDIO : " Mary ' s Story " ) From Lake Geneva , the Eighth Doctor took Mary to Vienna on 11 September 1873 , where they encountered two Cybermen from Mondas . Mary showed great courage defending her friends from a throng of Marionettenburg puppets with a poker . She also initially took pity on the Cybermen , who were badly damaged and malformed as the result of the crash - landing of their spacecraft . She almost befriended one of them , Gramm , and found a way to partially repair their damage using Galvani c lightning . However , when Gramm threatened to kill her , she managed to thwart its plan to contact Mondas by destroying the Doctor ' s sonic screwdriver , the only suitable power source for a transmitter . ( AUDIO : " The Silver Turk " ) She later visited Lincolnshire in 2011 and in the 1650s , where she encountered some Varaxil s who were looking for a human who could channel Odic energy . She also met Aleister Portillon who was obsessed with Lord Byron and had a biography of Mary herself . ( AUDIO : " The Witch From the Well " ) During her travels with the Doctor , Mary met Axons and King Harold at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066 . ( AUDIO : " Mary ' s Story " ) Another adventure with Mary involved her believing someone to be her brother , until the Doctor had pointed out that it was not . ( AUDIO : " Neverland " ) After her encounter with the Bone Lord , Mary decided to leave the Doctor ' s company , as she feared his other companion : death . ( AUDIO : " Army of Death " ) Also in 1816 , Mary encountered the Tenth Doctor when Zzazik , an alien creature wrapped in bandages , was absorbing bolts of energy . This sight provided Mary with inspiration for a scene in " Frankenstein " . The Doctor mentioned that she looked familiar , but did not comment further . ( COMIC : " The Creative Spark " ) In 1822 , Mary was widowed when her husband Percy drowned after his schooner sank off the coast of Italy . ( PROSE : " Managra " ) Legacy . The Eighth Doctor had a copy of Shelley ' s " Frankenstein " in his TARDIS library , inscribed to him by her , implying that the two remained on good terms after her departure from the TARDIS . The Doctor read the preface aloud , and mentioned that what Mary wrote wasn ' t the entire truth about what happened . ( AUDIO : " Storm Warning " ) The Twelfth Doctor saw Mary , among other companions , when Bernice Summerfield was hit by temporal energy in the Pyramid Eternia . ( PROSE : " Big Bang Generation " )