The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley Episode #137
Mary Shelley | October 31, 2023-
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The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley Episode #137
Mary Shelley
THE MORTAL IMMORTAL
Episode #137 · Written by Mary Shelley · Narrated by Scott Miller
What if time simply refused to take you? In The Mortal Immortal, Mary Shelley follows a man whose life stretches far beyond its natural bounds, even as love, reputation, and belonging erode year by year.
This is not a story of conquest over death. It is a quiet descent into endurance, where youth becomes a curse, secrecy becomes survival, and devotion is tested by decades no one was meant to witness. Shelley keeps the focus tightly human, allowing the weight of time to press down through ordinary moments rather than dramatic spectacle.
As the years accumulate, the question is no longer how long a man can live, but how long he can remain connected to others without destroying them—or himself. Every choice narrows toward a single tension: whether continuing to exist is itself a moral failure.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Shelley published The Mortal Immortal in 1833, building on ideas she had been developing since Frankenstein (1818). Her work repeatedly examines scientific ambition colliding with human consequence, often through deeply personal narratives rather than technological display. In addition to Frankenstein, her novels include The Last Man and Valperga, and her short fiction frequently explores altered states of life, responsibility, and isolation. The Mortal Immortal stands as one of her most direct confrontations with longevity, written at a time when she had already endured profound personal loss and was acutely aware of time’s irreversible costs.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley — a classic science fiction short story where eternal youth becomes a burden that time refuses to lift.
LOST VOICES OF VINTAGE SCI-FI
Not every science fiction writer built a long career in the field or became a widely recognized name. Some published only a handful of stories before disappearing from the magazines, leaving behind little biographical record and few surviving details. Others may be remembered for work in different genres, while their contribution to science fiction was brief.
Yet these writers helped shape the texture of the pulp era and beyond. Their stories experimented with bold ideas, filled the pages between the famous names, and added depth to the ever-expanding landscape of vintage science fiction.
The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast exists in part to rediscover these voices. The stories below were written by authors who published briefly, sparingly, or whose science fiction output was small - but whose work still deserves to be heard.
- The Ultimate Paradox by Thorp McClusky
- The Ultimate Wish by E. M. Hull
- Welcome to Paradise by Allyn Donnelson
- Day of Reckoning by Morton Klass
- Zeritskys Law by Ann Griffith
- Up For Renewal by Lucius Daniel
- Patch by William Shedenhelm
- Rabbits Have Long Ears by Lawrence F. Willard
- Electronic Landslide by Clyde Hostetter
- They Reached for the Moon by William Oberfield
- Death Walks on Mars by Alan J. Ramm
- When the Moon Fell by Morrison Colladay
- Know They Neighbor by Elisabeth R. Lewis
- The Other One by A. H. Gibson
- No Evidence by Victoria Lincoln
- The Man Who Liked Lions by John Bernard Daley
- Willies Planet by Mike Ellis
- The Short Snorter by Charles Einstein
- Your Servant Sir by Sol Boren
- The Fugitives by Malcolm B. Morehart Jr
- Leave Earthmen or Die by John Massie Davis
- And All the Girls Were Nude by Richard Magruder
- Rabbits Have Long Ears by Lawrence F. Willard
- Dust Unto Dust by Lyman D. Hinckley
- Cosmic Tragedy by Thomas S. Gardiner
- Day of Wrath by Bjarne Kirchhoff
- You Are Forbidden by Jerry Shelton
- Thirty Degrees Cattywonkus by James Bell
- The Small Bears by Gene L. Henderson
- The First Spaceman by Gene L. Henderson
ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST
The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 37 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 4.1 million listens.
Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.
What listeners are saying:
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— Sasquatch Sieber
★★★★★
“My two cents. Scott Miller lifts everything to a higher—more artistic—level. Probably would elevate the humble phone book to Shakespearean heights!!!!”
— Love the Vibe
Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.
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