 For Shelley , biographical writing was supposed to , in her words , " form as it were a school in which to study the philosophy of history " , and to teach " lessons " . Most frequently and importantly , these lessons consisted of criticisms of male @-@ dominated institutions such as primogeniture . Shelley emphasises domesticity , romance , family , sympathy , and compassion in the lives of her subjects . Her conviction that such forces could improve society connects her biographical approach with that of other early feminist historians such as Mary Hays and Anna Jameson . Unlike her novels , most of which had an original print run of several hundred copies , the Lives had a print run of about 4 @,@ 000 for each volume : thus , according to <unk> , Mary Shelley 's " use of biography to forward the social agenda of women 's historiography became one of her most influential political interventions " . 
