Frankenstein

About this Book

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared on the second edition, published in Paris in 1821. Victor Frankenstein is fascinated by science and alchemy, leading him to discover the secret of generating life from inanimate matter. However, upon bringing his towering creation to life, he is immediately horrified by its monstrous appearance and flees, abandoning the creature to fend for itself in a hostile world. The creature, endowed with keen intelligence and sensitive emotions, seeks companionship and acceptance from humanity, but meets only fear, cruelty, and violence wherever it turns. Consumed by anguish and isolation, the monster embarks on a vengeance-fueled path against his creator. Frankenstein is infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement, and it is widely considered by historians and literary critics to be the very first true science-fiction novel.