Begun when the author was only eighteen and conceived from a nightmare, Frankenstein is the deeply disturbing story of a monstrous creation which has terrified and chilled readers since its first publication in 1818. The novel has thus seared its way into the popular imagination while establishing itself as one of the pioneering works of modern science fiction.

For many people, the dominant image of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein (1818) has remained that of Boris Karloffin James Whales 1931 film.It has been suggested by one critic that the novel - and particularly the Creature - has become a metaphor for our own cultural crises,1 an idea reinforced by, for example, recent newspaper headlines about Frankenstein food. Furthermore, varied reinterpretations of the novel,ranging from comic film versions such as Mel Brookss Young Frankenstein and Richard O Briens The Rocky Horror Show, to the 1960s novelty record The Monster Mash by Bobby Boris Pickett and the Crypt Kickers, confirm that Frankenstein is part of our social and cultural iconography. The details of Mary Shelleys background particularly the ghost story contest which is supposed to have given birth to the novel - have enhanced a Frankensteinian mythology which has concentrated upon images of fear and monstrosity at the expense of other issues. This is a pity, because Mary Shelley deals with a range of significant ideas in her story. Frankenstein is not a simple battle between good and evil; it is not a ghost story, nor really a gothic novel. It defies a single interpretation, engaging instead with some of the crucial social and public questions of the period.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

PUBLISHERS INTRODUCTION

A NOTE ON THE TEXT

AUTHORS INTRODUCTION

PREFACE BY PERCY RYSSHE SHELLEY

Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus

NOTES