although gilbert imlay and mary wollstonecraft lived together happily for brief periods before and after the birth of fanny, he left wollstonecraft in france in the midst of the revolution. in an attempt to revive their relationship, wollstonecraft travelled to scandinavia on business for him, taking the one-year-old fanny with her, but the affair never rekindled. after falling in love with and marrying godwin, wollstonecraft died soon after giving birth in 1797, leaving the three-year-old fanny in the hands of godwin, along with their newborn daughter mary.