Frankenstein

The Original Gothic-Horror Literary Classic

Mary Shelley's deceptively simple story of Victor Frankenstein and the creature he brings to life, first published in 1818, is now more widely read-and more widely discussed by scholars-than any other work of the Romantic period. From the creature's creation to his wild lament over the dead body of his creator in the Arctic wastes, the story retains its narrative hold on the reader even as it spins off ideas in rich profusion.

About the Author:

Mary Shelley (30 August 1797 - 1 February 1851) was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (1818). She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin, and her mother was the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. She died in London in 1851.

This is the definitive collectors edition and is a stunning and impressive uanabridged representation of a classic literary work.

- Publisher's Weekly

Mary Shelley blurs the line between man and monster in this classic gothic masterpiece.

The story of Victor Frankenstein and the monstrous creature he created has held readers spellbound ever since it was published almost two centuries ago. On the surface, it is a novel of tense and steadily mounting horror; but on a more profound level, it offers searching illumination of the human condition in its portrayal of a scientist who oversteps the bounds of conscience, and of a monster brought to life in an alien world, ever more desperately attempting to escape the torture of his solitude. A novel of hallucinatory intensity, Frankenstein represents one of the most striking flowerings of the Romantic imagination.

With an Introduction by Douglas Clegg
And an Afterword by Harold Bloom

200 years after it was first published, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has stood the test of time as a gothic masterpiece--a classic work of humanity and horror that blurs the line between man and monster...

The story of Victor Frankenstein and the monstrous creature he created has held readers spellbound ever since it was published two centuries ago. On the surface, it is a novel of tense and steadily mounting horror; but on a more profound level, it offers searching illumination of the human condition in its portrayal of a scientist who oversteps the bounds of conscience, and of a monster brought to life in an alien world, ever more desperately attempting to escape the torture of his solitude. A novel of hallucinatory intensity, Frankenstein represents one of the most striking flowerings of the Romantic imagination.

With an Introduction by Douglas Clegg
And an Afterword by Harold Bloom

Here is the classic novel of supreme horror that has held readers spellbound since its publication in 1816. This new edition will also feature an examination of the films inspired by Shelley's groundbreaking work, plus a fascinating look into genetic engineering and the modern implications of this immortal tale.

@NotoriousDOC Just did a bit-torrent-style grave robbery. My new ‘man’ will be an artful collage. Also, good conversation starter.

It’s alive! I’d better beat it over the head repeatedly with a fire extinguisher.

So sometimes you build something, and it gets away. They’re gonna can me at the university if they find out about this.

From Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA.

The story of Victor Frankenstein and the monstrous creature he created has held readers spellbound ever since it was published almost two centuries ago. On the surface, it is a novel of tense and steadily mounting horror; but on a more profound level, it offers searching illumination of the human condition in its portrayal of a scientist who oversteps the bounds of conscience, and of a monster brought to life in an alien world, ever more desperately attempting to escape the torture of his solitude. A novel of hallucinatory intensity, Frankenstein represents one of the most striking flowerings of the Romantic imagination.

 

With a New Introduction by Douglas Clegg

And an Afterword by Harold Bloom

Born in London in 1797, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was the daughter of William Godwin, a noted social theorist, and Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the leading literary women of the day. Her mother died soon after her birth, and Mary was raised first under the care of servants, then by a stepmother, and lastly in the rarefied intellectual atmosphere of her fathers circle. In May, 1814, she met Percy Bysshe Shelley, and in July of the year moved with him to the Continent. Two years later, after the death of Shelleys wife, the poet and Mary were able to marry. It was in Switzerland in 1816, as a result of a story-writing competition among the Shelleys and Lord Byron, that Mary began Frankenstein, her first and most famous novel. Published in 1818, it was followed by such works as Valperga (1823), The Last Man (1826), and Falkner (1837). In 1823, after the death of her husband, she devoted herself to the upbringing of her son and the securing of his right to the Shelley family title. She died in 1851.

 

Douglas Clegg is the award-winning author of more than 25 books, including Neverland, Isis and The Vampyricon trilogy.  His fiction encompasses gothic, suspense, fantasy and horror themes. An e-book pioneer, he created the internets first e-serial novel, Naomi, which was released in 1999.

 

Harold Bloom, the countrys preeminent literary critic, is Sterling Professor of the Humanities and English at Yale University. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Gold Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Among his most important books are The Anatomy of Influence: Literature as a Way of Life and How to Read and Why.