 After her husband 's death , Mary Shelley lived for a year with Leigh Hunt and his family in Genoa , where she often saw Byron and transcribed his poems . She resolved to live by her pen and for her son , but her financial situation was precarious . On 23 July 1823 , she left Genoa for England and stayed with her father and stepmother in the Strand until a small advance from her father @-@ in @-@ law enabled her to lodge nearby . Sir Timothy Shelley had at first agreed to support his grandson , Percy Florence , only if he were handed over to an appointed guardian . Mary Shelley rejected this idea instantly . She managed instead to wring out of Sir Timothy a limited annual allowance ( which she had to repay when Percy Florence inherited the estate ) , but to the end of his days he refused to meet her in person and dealt with her only through lawyers . Mary Shelley busied herself with editing her husband 's poems , among other literary endeavours , but concern for her son restricted her options . Sir Timothy threatened to stop the allowance if any biography of the poet were published . In 1826 , Percy Florence became the legal heir of the Shelley estate after the death of his half @-@ brother Charles Shelley , his father 's son by Harriet Shelley . Sir Timothy raised Mary 's allowance from £ 100 a year to £ 250 but remained as difficult as ever . Mary Shelley enjoyed the stimulating society of William Godwin 's circle , but poverty prevented her from socialising as she wished . She also felt ostracised by those who , like Sir Timothy , still disapproved of her relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley . 
