Frankenstein: or `The Modern Prometheus': The 1818 TextBy the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window-shutters, I beheld the wretch-the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened...' Frankenstein is the most celebrated horror story ever written. It tells the dreadful tale of Victor Frankenstein, a visionary young student of natural philosophy, who discovers the secret of life. In the grip of his obsession he constructs a being from dead body parts, and animates this creature. The results, for Victor and for his family, are catastrophic. Written when Mary Shelley was just eighteen, Frankenstein was inspired by the ghost stories and vogue for Gothic literature that fascinated the Romantic writers of her time. She transformed these supernatural elements an epic parable that warned against the threats to humanity posed by accelerating technological progress. Published for the 200th anniversary, this edition, based on the original 1818 text, explains in detail the turbulent intellectual context in which Shelley was writing, and also investigates how her novel has since become a byword for controversial practices in science and medicine, from manipulating ecosystems to vivisection and genetic modification. As an iconic study of power, creativity, and, ultimately, what it is to be human, Frankenstein continues to shape our thinking in profound ways to this day. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 19
Page ix
... described the first human heart transplant in 1967 as a Frankenstein experiment: I began by reporting the patient looked much better—even though he thought he was a new Frankenstein. Amid the laughter, Bossie noted Dr. Frankenstein was ...
... described the first human heart transplant in 1967 as a Frankenstein experiment: I began by reporting the patient looked much better—even though he thought he was a new Frankenstein. Amid the laughter, Bossie noted Dr. Frankenstein was ...
Page xi
... described the nameless character (presumably with her approval: see Appendix C, pp. 199–200), and it is a reminder that the novel is deeply concerned with questions of existence, sentience, and essence—questions that have been ...
... described the nameless character (presumably with her approval: see Appendix C, pp. 199–200), and it is a reminder that the novel is deeply concerned with questions of existence, sentience, and essence—questions that have been ...
Page xiii
... described her as 'singularly bold, somewhat imperious, and active of mind. Her desire of knowledge is great and her perseverance in everything she undertakes, almost invincible.'15 But she knew her mother only through her writings. To ...
... described her as 'singularly bold, somewhat imperious, and active of mind. Her desire of knowledge is great and her perseverance in everything she undertakes, almost invincible.'15 But she knew her mother only through her writings. To ...
Page xxi
... described his first day in the dissecting room in shocking terms: 'When I entered that fearful human charnelhouse, littered with fragments of limbs, and saw the ghastly faces and cloven heads, the bloody cesspool in which we stood, with ...
... described his first day in the dissecting room in shocking terms: 'When I entered that fearful human charnelhouse, littered with fragments of limbs, and saw the ghastly faces and cloven heads, the bloody cesspool in which we stood, with ...
Page xxii
... described it (Appendix A, p. 176). Victor prepares a 'frame', for the 'reception' of life (p. 33). Such thinking was part of a revolutionary trend in materialist science that had developed from the associationist psychological theories ...
... described it (Appendix A, p. 176). Victor prepares a 'frame', for the 'reception' of life (p. 33). Such thinking was part of a revolutionary trend in materialist science that had developed from the associationist psychological theories ...
Contents
ix | |
Note on the Text | li |
Select Bibliography | lvi |
A Chronology of Mary Shelley | lxiii |
In three volumes | 1 |
Dedication | 3 |
Preface | 5 |
FRANKENSTEIN OR THE MODERN PROMETHEUS | 7 |
APPENDIX A AUTHORS INTRODUCTION TO THE STANDARD NOVELS EDITION 1831 | 173 |
SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES | 178 |
APPENDIX C ON FRANKENSTEIN BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY | 199 |
EXPLANATORY NOTES | 201 |
Other editions - View all
Frankenstein: or `The Modern Prometheus': The 1818 Text Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Limited preview - 2018 |
Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus: The 1818 Text Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Limited preview - 2018 |
Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus' - The 1818 Text Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley No preview available - 2019 |
Common terms and phrases
affection animal appeared arrived beautiful became become believe body called cause child Clerval companion concerning continued cottage cousin creature dark dead dear death delight described desire despair destroyed discovered edition Elizabeth endeavoured endured entered existence expressed eyes father fear feelings Felix felt followed Frankenstein Geneva Godwin hands happy heard heart History hope horror human idea imagination Italy Justine kind lake language leave letter light live London looked Lost manner Mary means mind miserable monster months mountains murderer nature nearly never night novel opened passed Percy Shelley philosophy pleasure poor possessed present Press Prometheus published reflected remained rest scene seemed Shelley Shelley’s sometimes soon spirit story suffered tale tears thing thought turned University Victor visited voice wish wonder wretch writing