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Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus…
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Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus (Oxford World's Classics) (original 1818; edition 1998)

by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, James Kinsley (Editor), M. K. Joseph (Editor)

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42,38970644 (3.82)5 / 1760
A monster assembled by a scientist from parts of dead bodies develops a mind of his own as he learns to loathe himself and hate his creator.
Member:LauraCaprara
Title:Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus (Oxford World's Classics)
Authors:Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Other authors:James Kinsley (Editor), M. K. Joseph (Editor)
Info:Oxford University Press, USA (1998), Paperback, 264 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

  1. 404
    The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (SanctiSpiritus, ghr4)
  2. 272
    Dracula by Bram Stoker (MarcusBrutus, Cecilturtle, LitPeejster)
  3. 254
    The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells (Liondancer, artturnerjr)
    Liondancer: another scientist whose creatures get out of control
    artturnerjr: Both books share a similar blend of science fiction and horror.
  4. 102
    The Journals of Mary Shelley by Professor Paula R. Feldman (JessamyJane)
  5. 113
    The Golem by Gustav Meyrink (Kolbkarlsson)
  6. 61
    Grendel by John Gardner (sturlington)
    sturlington: Both books attempt to get into the mind of a monster.
  7. 84
    Dracula [Norton Critical Edition] by Bram Stoker (Nubiannut)
  8. 40
    The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells (DeusXMachina)
    DeusXMachina: Science and the responsibility for its results.
  9. 51
    Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein by Dave Zeltserman (Crypto-Willobie)
    Crypto-Willobie: A decadent noirish retelling of the Frankenstein story from the monster's point of view.
  10. 52
    Frankenstein: A Cultural History by Susan Tyler Hitchcock (FFortuna)
  11. 42
    The deserted house + The sandman by E. T. A. Hoffmann (Nickelini)
    Nickelini: Written within a year of each other, Hoffmann's The Sandman and Shelley's Frankenstein both feature man-made beings. And both have been adapted beyond recognition.
  12. 21
    Sielun pimeä puoli : Mary Shelley ja Frankenstein by Merete Mazzarella (GoST)
  13. 21
    The Hidden by Richard Sala (Michael.Rimmer)
  14. 10
    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein [1994 film] by Kenneth Branagh (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: Nowhere near as bad as many silly reviews would have you believe. Countless changes of the novel, but the spirit, the basic story and the essence of the characters are retained. Actually improved. The movie's more Gothic and more horror, for one (or two) thing(s). More dramatic and more tightly plotted, too. Excellent cast and production design.… (more)
  15. 32
    Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus (thecoroner)
  16. 11
    The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories (Dover Thrift Edition) by Mark Twain (JolieLouise)
    JolieLouise: The Mysterious Stranger is about a creator's treatment of his creation.
  17. 33
    The Diamond Lens by Fitz James O'Brien (Anonymous user)
  18. 44
    The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (Morteana)
  19. 11
    Seven Masterpieces of Gothic Horror by Robert Donald Spector (FrankNstein)
  20. 00
    Paradise Regained by John Milton (ricalyr)

(see all 28 recommendations)

Europe (15)
AP Lit (27)
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1810s (3)
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Showing 1-5 of 657 (next | show all)
A classic that I finally got around to reading/listening to, although I probably saw the movie a bunch of times -- along with all the Frankenstein-inspired movies (okay, I admit it: Young Frankenstein is my favorite comedy of all times - lol). I decided to read this because I have the new book by Don Zancanella called A Storm in the Stars, which is historical fiction about the summer Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, and I figured there might be references that I would understand better if I read the underlying work. I read along and listened to the Audible version that was released earlier this year. The readers were terrific. I particularly got into it when it was stormy outside, and I was all cozy in my reading chair with a cup of tea. I struggled a bit at the beginning getting pulled into the story, but I think that is more a function of the more formal patterns of speech attributed to the characters, which is probably very accurate for the time period (it was published first in 1818, and then revised in 1831). Once I was immersed, it was terrific.

I already knew that Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, an eighteenth-century feminist who penned The Vindication of the Rights of Women and died shortly after giving birth to her daughter), Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and John Polidori were sitting around the fire by Lake Geneva on a night much like I was reading last night, rainy, and made a bet with each other who could write a scarier ghost story than the “penny dreadful” writers of the day. Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus was Mary's ghost story. ( )
  bschweiger | Feb 4, 2024 |
Lido em janeiro 24 ( )
  Correaf | Jan 16, 2024 |
This is another classic I've had forever, but never read.....one I promised myself I'd read before the year ended. Well, I partially succeeded.....I started in 2023, but with the festivities of the holidays keeping me busy, I didn't finish it before the New Year. Ok...thats not entirely true.....the holidays served as a great excuse to avoid a boring book.

The truth is...I kinda wish I hadn't read it.....I kinda wish I could still have the belief that Frankenstein is the wonderful horror classic everyone professes it to be.

I was completely shocked at how different this was than every single adaption ever made. Yet, I understand those creative liberties......the actual story would make an awfully boring watch.

The only positive take away I have from this book......its impressive that Mary Shelley authored this at a mear 18 yrs old....in a time when women didn't write " horror".

The bad......where do I start?......the victimization of a deranged monster.......his long drawn out diatribes ....Shelley's attempt at gaining pity for the vengeful ogre......the unrealistic events that rely solely on chance and happenstance......the suspension of realistic thinking asked of the reader to believe the monster achieved such elegant dialect from a few months of listening to the cottages read.......the ridiculous expectations put on the cottagers......Shelley's insinuation that everyone but the monster carried the blame for his nefarious acts......the exasperation I felt everytime the story got the least bit interesting, then quickly returned to the same boring cadence.....I could go on.....but, I'll stop here.

Suffice to say....I did not enjoy this at all......I would only recommend this to those interested in reading classics for the sake of doing so. ( )
  Jfranklin592262 | Jan 3, 2024 |
Prior to reading this, I was sure I'd read it before. I suspect, now, that what I read was a 'kids' version, which was significantly less forthright about the horrors that were going on.

It is an incredibly well written book, and I can see why it has lasted as it has. Having said that, it is bleak, and the story moves along very slowly at times. I also felt very little sympathy for the viewpoint character, the mad scientist, Frankenstein. Which at times made it a chore to read, as he vacillated between doing and not doing. And I respect that I am not intended to like Frankenstein, but it really does help keep me in a book.

I suspect, if I had known less of the story, then it would have gone better. The entire storyline on how the created person had learned to speak had gone past me previously, although the scene with the blind man was not new. Trying to work out how the patchwork of story I knew fitted with this was distracting, and distanced me from the story. ( )
  fred_mouse | Jan 2, 2024 |
I'm fairly certain I read (or attempted to read) this in 8th grade, and it was our book club selection for Oct/Nov Biere Library Storytime Book Club because my cohost has never read it and wanted to get to it, with fall feeling perfect for this!

It was a little bit of a struggle to finish, as I kept falling asleep (peril of reading at night), which is an interesting contrast to another member who found she couldn't read it at night because she'd have terrible nightmares. I think I also lagged because I felt like Victor mostly laments his situation despite having the ability to take action on it, such as telling literally anyone earlier about his creature running around strangling people, or warning his loved ones, orrrrrr even making any kind of effort to parent his offspring.

Like my friend Amber's review notes,

Broke: Frankenstein is the monster
Woke: Frankenstein is the creator of the monster
Bespoke: Frankenstein is the monster


For all his bad feels, Victor seems truly unrepentant about bringing new life into this world without taking responsibility for his actions, and as a result all of the bloodshed really could've been avoided, in my opinion. One of the themes that came up in book club is how this could be read as a commentary on parenting, with Viktor reflecting on how supportive and doting his were while abdicating any responsibility whatsoever over The Creature, bringing him into this world without guidance and being appalled at what he is after having to fend for himself (would not pass an IRB review, I think). I found the Creature to be a more compelling point of view than Victor, even though it's creepy to be peeping on your neighbors (makes sense as a means to learn how to speak and read, though!)

I recall when I first read this being surprised at how articulate the Creature was, given the pop culture osmosis depiction shows a shambling undead abomination groaning. The Creature is merely a construct with higher stamina who just wants to live but is rejected by all humans he encounters... I found it interesting his plan was to go away to the wilds of South America, which to 1818's eyes must have felt like a truly remote place.

One of our book club regulars is German, and he was delighted to inform us about how Ingolstadt is one of the oldest universities in Europe and talked about other places Victor travels and how next time he visits his homeland, he's going to try to stay at some of the same places- glad to inspire travel plans! ( )
  Daumari | Dec 28, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 657 (next | show all)
the author has powers, both of conception and language...a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity...
added by vibesandall | editQuarterly Review, John Wilson Croker (1818)
 

» Add other authors (224 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Shelley, Maryprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bloom, HaroldAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bordwin, GabrielleCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Brockway, HarryIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Casaletto, TomNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Couturiau, PaulTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Deaver, JefferyIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ebeling, HermannAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Guidall, GeorgeNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hagemann, MichaelCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hindle, MauriceIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hunter, J. PaulEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Johnson, DianeIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Judge, PhoebeNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Karbiener, KarenIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lehtonen, PaavoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Miller, Walter JamesForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Monzó, QuimTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Moser, BarryIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Munch, PhilippeIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pechmann, AlexanderTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pinching, DavidAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Polakovics, FriedrichTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Porée, MarcCommentairessecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pujals, María EngraciaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rennerfelt, MonicaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rodríguez Cerro, MiguelIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ruiz, AristedesCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Saci, Maria PaolaIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Samuel, CoriNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Seymour, MirandaIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Shelley, Percy ByssheCollaboratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Steiner, WendyIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stevens, DanNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Troncarelli, FabioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vance, SimonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ward, LyndIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wheatley, DennisIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wrightson, BernieIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Epigraph
Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me man? Did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?
—Paradise Lost, x, 743-5
Dedication
TO
WILLIAM GODWIN
Author of Political Justice, Caleb Williams, &c.
THESE VOLUMES
Are respectfully inscribed
by
THE AUTHOR
First words
To Mrs Saville, England. St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17—. You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied
the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded
with such evil forebodings.
The event on which this fiction is founded has been supposed, by Dr. Darwin, and some of the physiological writers of Germany, as not of impossible occurrence. - preface by P.B. Shelley
Mary Shelley: Though her life was fraught with personal tragedy, Mary Shelley was destined for literary greatness. (Barnes and Noble Edition)
Author's Introduction:  The publishers of the Standard Novels, in selecting Frankenstein for one of their series, expressed a wish that I should furnish them with some account of the origin on the story.  (Author's Introduction to the Standard Novels Edition (1831))
Quotations
“ I had admired the perfect form of my cottagers—their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions: but how was I terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool . . . and when I was convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification.”
"I will be with you on your wedding night!"
It was the wretch, the filthy daemon to whom I had given life!
"I have lately been so engaged in one occupation that I have not allowed myself sufficient rest. But I hope that all those employments are now at an end, and that I am at length free."
I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were now become a hell to me.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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This is the main work for Frankenstein. It should not be combined with any abridgement or adaptation.
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A monster assembled by a scientist from parts of dead bodies develops a mind of his own as he learns to loathe himself and hate his creator.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Frankenstein was published in 1818, the work of a 21-year-old genius named Mary Shelley. Hundreds of movies, adaptations, and monster masks later, its reputation remains so lively that the title has become its own word in the English language. Victor Frankenstein, a scientist, discovers the secret of reanimating the dead. After he rejects his hideous creation, not even the farthest poles of the earth will keep his bitter monster from seeking an inhuman revenge. Inspired by a uniquely Romantic view of science’s possibilities, Shelley’s masterpiece ultimately wrestles with the hidden shadows of the human mind.

About the author:

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in London in 1797, the daughter of well-known intellectuals. She married the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1816 and spent much of her adulthood in continental Europe, surrounded by her friends in the English Romantic Movement. Her tumultuous life included the loss of three children in infancy and her husband’s death by drowning in 1822. Nevertheless, her contributions to English literature continue to fascinate and inspire readers and artists alike.

Three narratives in one, all of them exploring the unknown. The ship captain is pushing dangerously into the Arctic. Dr. Frankenstein makes a notable breakthrough, creating human life anew, but runs from the consequences. The creature, who creates his own education, and determines that he needs a mate.

This volume distinguishes the three narrative levels: the sea captain, Dr. Frankenstein, and the Creature. Backmatter material adds some information about the book and its author.
Victor Frankenstein is just a college student who wants to figure out the technical details of how life works. Obsessed with chasing this discovery, he creates something unthinkable. And then things all go wrong. Read a Gothic horror classic easily with this modern English translation. But don't worry about missing anything, because the original unedited 1831 version is here too, along with a scholarly essay.
Haiku summary
The creature awakes,
Horrible yet innocent,
Abandonment scars.
(hillaryrose7)
It is dangerous,
To play God with life and death,
Horror the result.
(hillaryrose7)
Monster destruction
Could have been avoided, Vic.
Parental neglect.
(captainfez)

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Penguin Australia

5 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0141439475, 0141024445, 0141045116, 014133441X, 0141198966

Tantor Media

An edition of this book was published by Tantor Media.

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Recorded Books

An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

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Urban Romantics

2 editions of this book were published by Urban Romantics.

Editions: 1909175129, 1909175137

 

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