Frankenstein"I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion." A summer evening's ghost stories, lonely insomnia in a moonlit Alpine's room, and a runaway imagination--fired by philosophical discussions with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley about science, galvanism, and the origins of life--conspired to produce for Marry Shelley this haunting night specter. By morning, it had become the germ of her Romantic masterpiece, "Frankenstein." Written in 1816 when she was only nineteen, Mary Shelley's novel of "The Modern Prometheus" chillingly dramatized the dangerous potential of life begotten upon a laboratory table. A frightening creation myth for our own time, "Frankenstein" remains one of the greatest horror stories ever written and is an undisputed classic of its kind. |
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Page 47
... hope which your eyes express , my friend , that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted ; that cannot be : listen patiently until the end of my story , and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that ...
... hope which your eyes express , my friend , that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted ; that cannot be : listen patiently until the end of my story , and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that ...
Page 185
... hope to see you in less than a fortnight . My poor cousin , how much you must have suffered ! I expect to see you looking even more ill than when you quitted Geneva . This winter has been passed most miserably , tortured as I have been ...
... hope to see you in less than a fortnight . My poor cousin , how much you must have suffered ! I expect to see you looking even more ill than when you quitted Geneva . This winter has been passed most miserably , tortured as I have been ...
Page 211
... hope . O my beloved sister ! the sickening failing of your heartfelt expectations is , in prospect , more terrible to me than my own death . But you have a husband , and lovely children ; you may be happy : Heaven bless you , and make ...
... hope . O my beloved sister ! the sickening failing of your heartfelt expectations is , in prospect , more terrible to me than my own death . But you have a husband , and lovely children ; you may be happy : Heaven bless you , and make ...
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Common terms and phrases
affection Agatha agony Albertus Magnus anguish appeared arrived beautiful became beheld beloved bestow Clerval companion consolation cottage countenance cousin creature crime dæmon dared dark dear death delight desire despair destroyed discovered dream earth Elizabeth endeavoured endured entered expressed eyes father fear feelings Felix felt Frankenstein Geneva gentle grief hands happiness heard heart heavens hope horror human idea imagination Ingolstadt innocent John Polidori journey Justine kind Krempe labours lake lived looked Lord Byron manner marriage Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft mind miserable misfortune monster Mont Blanc morning mountains murderer natural philosophy nature never night Pandæmonium Paracelsus Paradise Lost passed passion peace perceived Percy Shelley pleasure poor possessed reflect remained resolved revenge Safie scene sensations smiles sometimes soon sorrow soul spirit strange suffered Switzerland tale tears thought university of Ingolstadt Victor voice wind wish wonder wood words wretched