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 227
... stories since then ; but their incidents are as fresh in my mind as if I had read them yesterday . " We will each write a ghost story , " said Lord Byron ; and his proposition was acceded to . There were four of us . The noble author ...
... stories since then ; but their incidents are as fresh in my mind as if I had read them yesterday . " We will each write a ghost story , " said Lord Byron ; and his proposition was acceded to . There were four of us . The noble author ...
Page 228
... story would be unworthy of its name . I thought and pondered - vainly . I felt that blank incapability of invention which is the greatest misery of authorship , when dull Nothing replies to our anxious invocation . Have you thought of a ...
... story would be unworthy of its name . I thought and pondered - vainly . I felt that blank incapability of invention which is the greatest misery of authorship , when dull Nothing replies to our anxious invocation . Have you thought of a ...
Page 230
... story . I began that day with the words , It was on a dreary night of November , making only a transcript of the grim terrors of my waking dream . At first I thought but of a few pages - of a short tale ; but Shelley urged me to develop ...
... story . I began that day with the words , It was on a dreary night of November , making only a transcript of the grim terrors of my waking dream . At first I thought but of a few pages - of a short tale ; but Shelley urged me to develop ...
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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