November 11 1812: Shelley and Mary Meet

On November 11, 1812, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, fifteen years old, meets Percy Shelley for the first time.  Shelley, his wife Harriet and Harriet's sister Eliza have dinner at the Godwins that night. The night before, Mary, with her friend  Christy Baxter, had returned home to London after having spent some months in Scotland. It is possible that Mary was too tired from the journey and did not leave her room to meet Percy. Their romantic relationship only started years later. Alternatively, I imagine that Mary and Percy meet under Harriet's cold fearful eyes.