Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Epub)

Description

Few creatures of horror have seized readers’ imaginations and held them for so long as the anguished monster of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The story of Victor Frankenstein’s terrible creation and the havoc it caused has enthralled generations of readers and inspired countless writers of horror and suspense. Considering the novel’s enduring success, it is remarkable that it began merely as a whim of Lord Byron’s.

“We will each write a story,” Byron announced to his next-door neighbors, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin and her lover Percy Bysshe Shelley. The friends were summering on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland in 1816, Shelley still unknown as a poet and Byron writing the third canto of Childe Harold. When continued rains kept them confined indoors, all agreed to Byron’s proposal.
The illustrious poets failed to complete their ghost stories, but Mary Shelley rose supremely to the challenge. With Frankenstein, she succeeded admirably in the task she set for herself: to create a story that, in her own words, “would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror — one to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart.”

User’s Reviews

At this challenge, Mary Shelley began work on the ‘ghost story’ that was to evolve into the most celebrated horror novel in literary history. Frankenstein was published the next year and become the rage of London. In the generations since, the story of Victor Frankenstein and the monster he created has been read by millions all over the world. It has inspired hundreds of imitations, but it has never been equaled for its masterful manipulation of the elements of horror and suspense. About the Author Daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley edited the works of her husband, Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and is best known as the author of Frankenstein.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ There have been four different editions of FRANKENSTEIN with Wrightson art, and unfortunately this is the smallest-sized (6×9 inches) and most expensive ($29.95) edition with lackluster printing of the artwork (see photo). Obviously, if you just want the book for its text, there are dozens of other choices, and far cheaper. But the publisher, in its sales copy, is careful to make the distinction that this edition has the Wrightson art, which is its main selling point. Therefore, wouldn’t you think they’d give us a proper showcase, with coated matte paper, like the IDW edition (the best of the four), instead of printing this on inexpensive, highly absorbent, standard book stock (55-pound or 70-pound, at most)?The result is a book that simply isn’t a good value for the money. If you want an edition of FRANKENSTEIN with the art gorgeously reproduced, in a large format, on coated semi-matte paper and exquisite reproduction, you’ll have to buy one on the secondary market, because that edition, from Dark Horse, is long out of print. Go seek it out. Oh, my lord, it’s such a beautiful book in every way, right down to its satin ribbon.As a former book marketing director, while I applaud S&S for getting the book back in print, they are best advised to sell out the remaining inventory and go back to the drawing board, just as the late Bernie Wrightson did when he realized it was high time for the art to match the book with classic art. Bernie poured his heart and soul into illustrating what is unquestionably his masterpiece.Perhaps the second time around the publisher will get a copy of the IDW edition and say: “How can we improve on this?” (Well, for starters, reprint Joyce Carol Oates’ essay on the book, and add an appreciation of Wrightson himself, and add an additional gallery of the unused Wrightson artwork that appeared in a separate book, from a small press, titled THE LOST FRANKENSTEIN PAGES.) Then they’ll have a book for the ages, which will make money for them for many years to come, which is what Bernie Wrightson’s art richly deserves, and his wife Elizabeth also deserves, and what we, as readers, will buy.Note: I have posted two photos of the Dark Horse edition, which I highly recommend.

⭐ I am disappointed in the quality of this book, which has a cover that looks like a copy of a copy printed up on someone’s cheap home printer and has more than a few ink splotches evident throughout the text. I am also puzzled by the numbering of the chapters, some of which are in roman numerals while others are in modern numbers, and the one blurry reproduction inside. Why even bother? As for the actual novel, I have to bring home my copy of the Norton version I own, but this one has only 146 pages, which seems off, considering the other copy I own is closer to 500. Of course, a number of those pages could be the foreward and a few critiques, but I doubt that it is three hundred pages worth. I should have known I was taking a chance with this version, especially when the cover illustration is clearly of the 1950s version of The Creature.

⭐ Despite saying it’s the original 1818 text in the description, it is not; it’s the 1831 edition. Considering that I specifically needed the 1818 version for my son’s AP English class, this was incredibly disappointing and frustrating. However, since it was so cheap, it’s not worth sending back, and my son will be using it as a stop-gap until my new order of the correct version arrives.

⭐ I bought this book for a college level English class. Even though this book was for an educational purpose at the time needed it, I found it to be exciting and interesting. There was a lot of adventure and guessing to keep me reading and wanting more. Frankenstein is a definite page turner and will have you thinking about creation and what is considered beauty. The story lines of the characters are beautifully put together, so you can get a mental picture of who they are and what they look like, which is what I love about reading. The characters are exciting within themselves and do not rely on the main character to be interesting. This book will have you thinking about love, beauty, loyalty and family and what those really mean to you. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a small enough book you can toss in your bag and take with you on the go. It is a good read and you get invested in each character and start to feel empathy for the ones you wouldn’t even think of. The movie is quite good as well, but the book has more imagination and feeling. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something thought provoking and interesting. Even though this book is both Gothic and Science fiction it is not dark and dreary.

⭐ 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS. While I did not read – or in this case listen to – the novel because of the anniversary, it does seem appropriate that I picked this time to read what is generally considered the first true science fiction novel. I would imagine that most people, myself included, first encountered FRANKENSTEIN as the 1931 movie of the same name, which is somewhat based on the novel. As we know, the movie recounts the story of a scientist who, along with his assistant, piece together a human-like creature from the pieces of dug up corpses. Most infamously, Henry Frankenstein’s assistant Fritz acquires the brain of a criminal for the Creature (played by Boris Karloff), thus lending the story the conflict it needs when the Creature comes alive and begins wreaking havoc throughout the local countryside. There have been many movie and literary adaptations and spinoffs of the original FRANKENSTEIN. I am particularly fond, of course, of Mel Brooks’ movie Young Frankenstein, in which Peter Boyle portrays the Creature. I’m also fond of Michael Bishop’s 1994 novel BRITTLE INNINGS, which links the FRANKENSTEIN story and baseball.It probably would surprise no one who has only seen the movie that it bears only a small resemblance to Shelley’s novel.Shelley’s novel is told as a framing narrative. The story starts out recounting the correspondence between Robert Walton and his sister Margaret. Walton is traveling to the North Pole to gain scientific knowledge. While on the journey, he and his crew first spot a dog sled driven by a large man, then rescue a man who is near death. The man is Victor Frankenstein, who has been pursuing the man in the dog sled. As Walton nurses Frankenstein back to health, they become friends. Walton shares his story of intense desire for scientific knowledge. Frankenstein, seeing much of himself in Walton, recounts the story of how he arrived on Walton’s boat and why Walton should think twice about his intense thirst for knowledge.The framing narrative becomes layered as Frankenstein first recounts his story of becoming obsessed with scientific knowledge, and especially that of how to bring life to an inanimate being. He almost quite literally becomes the “mad scientist”, spending all his time researching the subject and then, once he discovers the actual process to bring a creature to life, doing nothing but what it takes to make it happen. He rarely eats and sleeps, and his relationship with his family deteriorates to almost nothing. He does finally bring the Creature to life, but once he sees it he is appalled and disgusted with what he has done, and he aims to destroy it.Next comes the Creature’s story as told by the Creature itself, which takes up the bulk of the novel. Unlike Karloff’s portrayal of the Creature, the novel shows the Creature learning about himself, learning about language – to the point where he becomes erudite to the point of sounding as if he had what we might call a college education – and learning how and why he is shunned by the rest of humanity. He then realizes that he is what he is because of Frankenstein (resulting in what would be a fascinating study of the nature versus nurture – or in this case, lack of nurture – discussion) and vows to deprive Victor of happiness much like Victor has deprived him of happiness. Eventually the narrative returns to Frankenstein’s story and eventually Walton’s, culminating with Walton meeting the Creature itself.It was somewhat surprising to me how short the novel actually is. As readers we have been trained to expect complex stories like this to be at least double the length. And while there is much detail that could be discussed – and I refuse to be concerned about spoiling a story that is over 200 years old at this point – I will stop here and let those who have yet to read the novel go ahead and do so without giving it all away.I was pleasantly surprised by FRANKENSTEIN. I guess I’ve been conditioned by the movie, which I’ve seen several times, to expect one thing while the novel turned out to be entirely something else. While the name Frankenstein usually is used to refer to the Creature, it’s pretty clear that the real villain of the novel is Victor himself. His hubris in creating life from where there is none – and at the time FRANKENSTEIN was written the implication was that Victor was stepping where only God was meant to tread – resulted in a Creature who quite understandably was ticked off at his situation and who also quite understandably blamed the only person he knew to be responsible for his plight. The Creature was shown to be a compassionate being, and one who gave Frankenstein every opportunity to shut down the violence and death that was occurring around him. Yet,Victor chose to let it continue, and indeed brought so much suffering upon himself by his actions the reader might be tempted to believe that he is the Wretch (as the Creature is sometimes called) and not the Creature itself.Jim Donaldson provided an adequate narration of the novel. As I listened to the book, I felt that his voice and tone were perfect for the gothic nature of the story. His gravelly-voiced rendition of the Creature could not have been easy for him to do; at the same time, I was taken out of the story by his portrayal of the Creature. He sounded like a crotchety old man, which does not fit with my image of the Creature. That could be due to me being influenced by Karloff’s rendition of the Creature, although his gutteral roars do sound like an old man too, I suppose.If you’ve never read the book, I suggest you do so. It’s interesting to contrast the novel and the movie, and of course that’s something we do with today’s movies anyway – from Lord of the Rings to Hunger Games to anything else. I can see why this is considered a classic, and it’s well worth the time for you to read it for yourself and, hopefully, come to the same conclusion.

⭐ Ah, Frankenstein. Mary Shelley. Lord Byron. An island. Fireside stories. A competition. And! A novel is born. But not just any novel – a GOTHIC novel. Our first Science Fiction novel. A novel that struggles with medical ethics, morality and ultimately, what it means to be human. All of this is wrapped up in an epic struggle between two equally unlikeable characters but each of whom represents a part of humanity – one is a creator, an innovator, an explorer; the other is a creation who is desperately lonely, angry, confused and ultimately, abandoned. Each engages in behavior and makes choices that are reprehensible. But the triggers for their acts – what about those? Is each character morally excused from their bad acts due to the understandable chaos they face? These questions are current, real and unanswerable in a simple way. Stanford University, for the book’s 100th anniversary, held a campus-wide celebration the entire academic year, with medical ethics talks at the Med school to reading and discussing this book in Another Book Club. I revisit this book annually in October, my Month of Horror, and conclude that this classic deserves to be considered and pondered carefully.

⭐ That’s right, this 1830s novel had all the elements of great Sci-Fi. You are in the realm of science fiction according to Isaac Asimov if your story deals with human being’s reaction to emerging science or technology. Doctor Frankenstein certainly created some new technology when the his monster took shape and became alive. But what is really amazing about this novel is Mary Shelly. How could an 18 year old girl with no formal education write such landmark book. Some say, her Husband, poet Percy Shelley ghost wrote the book but Mary’s subsequent books after Percy’s untimely death proves Mary had the makings of an accomplished author.Of course the Frankenstein story has been made into countless movies and plays which is a good reason to read the original Shelley version. It’s nothing like the 1933 movie or many later iterations. The book is well written with a masterful command of the English languish. When you compare Frankenstein to current literature you become aware that modern authors seem to work with a 250 word dictionary spiked with f-bombs and geared to elementary school audiences’. Mary’s book is then, is worth the read on so many levels.Al Wayne

⭐ I decided to give this classic a read given my interest overall in the Everyman’s Library collection. These books come with an insightful introduction, as well as a biographical timeline of the author’s life and work. In short, you get a handsome and durable hardcover edition – at the same time you get the information to have the work and the author’s inspiration for the work placed into a broader context. If you’re going to read something, buy a nice quality edition like this and learn a little along the way.I’m not going to rehash the plot for you – you’ve seen that a hundred times already in the reviews. All I can say is that this was much better than I anticipated, very unlike the Hollywood renditions, and amazing that Shelley was able to write this at such a young age. The book breaks down into sections depending on the narrator, but just a fascinating study of both creator and monster. Can’t recommend enough as you fill out your library of Gothic horror classics!

⭐ Perhaps no other work of literature has been subjected to such a radical transformation in the popular perception as Mary Shelley’s first novel, which focuses on the tragic consequences of hubris and the perils of unbridled ambition but has since (thanks to Hollywood) come to be regarded as a “mere” horror story about a malevolent monster.While the monster in Shelley’s novel is indeed malevolent, it is also literate, articulate, and capable of profound insights regarding the arrogance and selfishness humans are capable of exhibiting. Abandoned by its creator (apparently because it is too hideous and repugnant to behold), the monster seeks companionship and acceptance (don’t we all?) by resorting to the only means available to it—brute strength and threats.Regrettably, film adaptations have not done this tale justice. Not only have they mostly ignored Shelley’s complex themes, but they have also abandoned Shelley’s complex nested narrative structure (a story within a story within a story). Enjoy the horror film renditions if you must, but there’s nothing quite as satisfying as the source.

⭐ Victor grew up reading the works of Paracelsus, Agrippa, and Albertus Magnus, the alchemists of the time. Toss in a little natural philosophy (sciences) and you have the making of a monster. Or at least a being that after being spurned for looking ugly becomes ugly. So, for revenge, the creature decides unless Victor makes another (female this time) creature, that Victor will also suffer the loss of friends and relatives. What is victor to do? Bow to the wishes and needs of his creation? Or challenge it to “the death”? What would you do?Although the concept of the monster is good, and the conflicts of the story well thought out, Shelly suffers from the writing style of the time. Many people do not finish the book as the language is stilted and verbose for example when was the last time you said, “Little did I then expect the calamity that was in a few moments to overwhelm me and extinguish in horror and despair all fear of ignominy of death.”Much of the book seems like a travel log filler. More time describing the surroundings of Europe than the reason for traveling or just traveling. Many writers use traveling to reflect time passing or the character growing in stature or knowledge. In this story, they just travel a lot.This book is worth plodding through for moviegoers. The record needs to be set straight. The first shock is that the creator is named Victor Frankenstein; the creature is just a “monster”, not Frankenstein. And it is Victor that is backward which added in him doing the impossible by not knowing any better. The monster is well-read in “Sorrows of a Young Werther,” “Paradise Lost,” and Plutarch’s “Lives.” The debate (mixed with a few murders) rages on as to whether the monster was doing evil because of his nature or because he was spurned?

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