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. |
From inside the book
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Page 15
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. My dear sister , LETTER III To Mrs. Saville , England . July 7th , 17- I write a few lines in haste , to say that I am safe , and well advanced on my voyage . This letter will reach England by a merchantman ...
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. My dear sister , LETTER III To Mrs. Saville , England . July 7th , 17- I write a few lines in haste , to say that I am safe , and well advanced on my voyage . This letter will reach England by a merchantman ...
Page 57
... letter from you in your own handwriting . They hardly know how ill you have been , and are uneasy at your long ... letter that has been lying here some days for you : it is from your cousin , I believe . " CHAPTER VI Clerval then put the ...
... letter from you in your own handwriting . They hardly know how ill you have been , and are uneasy at your long ... letter that has been lying here some days for you : it is from your cousin , I believe . " CHAPTER VI Clerval then put the ...
Page 68
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Clerval , who had watched my countenance as I read this letter , was surprised to observe the despair that succeeded to the joy I at first expressed on receiving news from my friends . I threw the letter on ...
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Clerval , who had watched my countenance as I read this letter , was surprised to observe the despair that succeeded to the joy I at first expressed on receiving news from my friends . I threw the letter on ...
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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