Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821.
Shelley travelled through Europe in 1815, moving along the river Rhine in Germany, and stopping in Gernsheim, 17 kilometres away from Frankenstein Castle, where, two centuries before, an alchemist had engaged in experiments. She then journeyed to the region of Geneva, Switzerland, where much of the story takes place. Galvanism and occult ideas were topics of conversation for her companions, particularly for her lover and future husband Percy B. Shelley. In 1816, Mary, Percy, and Lord Byron had a competition to see who could write the best horror story. After thinking for days, Shelley was inspired to write Frankenstein after imagining a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made.
Though Frankenstein is infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement, Brian Aldiss has argued for regarding it as the first true science-fiction story. In contrast to previous stories with fantastical elements resembling those of later science fiction, Aldiss states, the central character "makes a deliberate decision" and "turns to modern experiments in the laboratory" to achieve fantastic results.The novel has had a considerable influence on literature and on popular culture; it has spawned a complete genre of horror stories, films, and plays.
On 5 November 2019, BBC News listed Frankenstein on its list of the 100 most influential novels. In 2021, it was one of six classic science fiction novels by British authors selected by Royal Mail to feature on a series of UK postage stamps.
Excerpted from Frankenstein on Wikipedia
Frankenstein
| Author | Mary Shelley |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Gothic novel, horror fiction, science fiction, Epistolary novel, Literary fiction |
| Copyright | Public domain worldwide. |
| Book cover | - |
| Ebooks | Project Gutenberg. |
| Scans | Google-digitized. |
| Audio | Librivox | Internet Archive |
| Read online | FRANKENSTEIN 1. Frankenstein First Edition --1818 Edition. Read by Cori Samuel-- Shelley completed her writing in April/May 1817, and Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was published on 1 January 1818 by the small London publishing house Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones. It was issued anonymously, with a preface written for Mary by Percy Bysshe Shelley and with a dedication to philosopher William Godwin, her father. It was published in an edition of just 500 copies in three volumes, the standard "triple-decker" format for 19th-century first editions. 2. Frankenstein (1831) --1831 Edition. Read by John Van Stan-- On 31 October 1831, the first "popular" edition in one volume appeared, published by Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley. This edition was heavily revised by Mary Shelley, partially to make the story less radical. It included a lengthy new preface by the author, presenting a somewhat embellished version of the genesis of the story. This edition is the one most widely published and read now, although a few editions follow the 1818 text. Some scholars prefer the original version, arguing that it preserves the spirit of Mary Shelley's vision. |