Frankenstein, The Musical | Educational Resources

A rare copy of the 1831 edition of Frankenstein—the first published under Mary Shelley’s name.

The Novel

Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (the novel’s full title) was written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley between the years 1816-1818.

It was first published in London in 1818—anonymously. Only 500 copies were printed. Critics widely denouced the work as unseemly, but readers embraced it and Frankenstein quickly became one of the most talked-about books in England.

A second edition was published in 1826, still anonymously, but edited by Mary’s father, William Godwin, who was a well-known author himself. This led many to speculate that Frankenstein was actually written by Mary’s husband, the famous author Percy Shelley, who was a vocal admirer of Godwin’s.

In 1831, after she had established her reputation through her other writings, Mary Shelley’s name first appeared on an edition of Frankenstein in this, its third printing. For this edition, Mary rewrote and edited many key passages and penned a now famous preface, explaining the story’s origins. This is the version of Frankenstein that is published and read today.

A watershed work of the Romantic movement and gothic literature, Frankenstein is also often credited as having given birth to the genre of science fiction.

█ LINK: Full electronic text of Frankenstein

█ LINK: 32-page abridged version of the novel

█ LINK: Mary Shelley’s preface to the 3rd edition

Mary Shelley

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley (August 30, 1797 – February 1, 1851) was born in London to famous parents. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft was a prototype feminist and noted author. Her father William Godwin was radical author, philosopher, anarchist and atheist. (No wonder Mary was such a progressive thinker!)

Mary was married to famous poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (although they had two children together before Shelley was free of his first marriage. The first of the two children died shortly after birth.)

Mary Shelley was 18 when she first conceived Frankenstein in 1816, while she and Percy were the guests of poet Lord Byron at his villa on Lake Geneva. Housebound by inclement weather, the group challenged each other to come up with ghost stories. Mary’s “Frankenstein” sprang forth from a dream she had in which she envisioned the moment when the creature was brought to life.

She and Shelley were married in 1816, shortly after the death of Percy’s first wife.

Percy Bysshe Shelley perished at sea in 1822. By the time she was 26, Mary Shelley was a widow and had buried three children. Only one of her children, Percy II, survived into adulthood.

None of her other writings would approach the fame of Frankenstein, but they are revered in many literary circles. They include the novels Mathilda, The Last Man, The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck, Lodore, and Falkner. She also worked tirelessly to promote the works of her late husband.

She died in 1851 at the age of 53.

█ LINK: Wikipedia page for Mary Shelley

█ LINK: My Hideous Progeny: A site dedicated to all things Mary Shelley