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Frankenstein, or the Modern prometheus
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Frankenstein, or the Modern prometheus Paperback - 2007

by Mary Shelley


About this book

Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus is a Gothic novel written by Mary Shelley in 1818. The story revolves around Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a monstrous creature and immediately regrets his actions, abandoning the creature to its own devices. The creature, seeking acceptance and revenge, terrorizes Victor and those he loves. Themes of ambition, ethics, humanity, and loneliness are explored through Shelley's vivid descriptions of the natural world and her characters' psychological torment. Frankenstein remains a classic of Gothic literature and a seminal work of science fiction.

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin wrote the first draft of her groundbreaking novel in 1816, while on a trip to Lake Geneva with her soon-to-be husband, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and poet Lord Byron. They were stuck indoors during famously known as the Year Without a Summer.




Summary

Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel presents the epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.

From the publisher

MARY SHELLEY was born in London on August 17, 1797. Her mother, the celebrated feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, died a few days after her birth. Her father, William Godwin, a well-known anarchist and atheist writer, tutored Mary. In 1814, when she was sixteen, she fell in love with the married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and they eloped to France. In 1816 the couple travelled to Lake Geneva to spend the summer with the poet Byron. Mary was inspired to write Frankenstein after Byron arranged a ghost story competition during their stay. In the autumn of 1816 Shelley's pregnant wife drowned herself in the Serpentine in Hyde Park and Shelley immediately married Mary. The couple had four children together but only one son survived infancy. They lived in Italy until Percy's death in a boating accident in 1822. Mary continued to write until her death in London on February 1, 1851. She is buried in Bournemouth.

First Edition Identification

A small London publishing house, Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones, first printed Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus in a limited series of just 500 copies on January 1, 1818. By then, Mary was just 20 years old. The first edition was published anonymously in 1818, with a preface by Percy B. Shelley and a dedication to Mary’s father, philosopher William Godwin. Mary Shelley didn’t publicly claim her novel until years later, and her name appears in the second edition, published in 1823. First edition original pasteboards were in blueish gray.

First editions are very scarce and exceptionally rare on the market. In 2021 one of the first 500 copies of the novel was sold at auction for $1.17 million. It was the first Frankenstein first edition copy to be auctioned since 1985.


Details

  • Title Frankenstein, or the Modern prometheus
  • Author Mary Shelley
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 231
  • Language EN
  • Publisher Vintage, London
  • Date 2007
  • ISBN 9780099512042
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2008431102

About the author

Mary Shelley was inspired to write Frankenstein after Lord Byron arranged a ghost story competition during a vacation holiday.
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Frankenstein

Frankenstein

by Shelley, Mary

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Frankenstein : Or the Modern Prometheus
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Frankenstein : Or the Modern Prometheus

by Shelley, Mary

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Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus

Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus

by Shelley, Mary

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by Shelley, Mary

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Frankenstein (Vintage Classics)

by Mary Shelley

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Description:
ISBN 9780099512042
Publisher: Vintage 2011
240 pages
Soft cover
One freezing morning, a lone man wandering across the Artic ice caps is rescued from starvation by a ship's captain. Victor Frankenstein's story is one of ambition, murder and revenge. As a young scientist he pushed moral boundaries in order to cross the final frontier and create life. But his creation is a monster stitched together from grave-robbed body parts who has no place in the world, and his life can only lead to tragedy.Written when she was only nineteen, Shelley's gothic tale is one of the greatest horror stories ever published.
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