Obsessed with creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life with electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear. Mary Shelley's chilling gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley near Byron's villa on Lake Geneva. It would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity. Based on the third edition of 1831, this text contains all the revisions Mary Shelley made to her story, as well as her 1831 introduction and Percy Bysshe Shelley's preface to the first edition. It also includes as appendices a select collation of the texts of 1818 and 1831 together with 'A Fragment' by Lord Byron and Dr John Polidori's 'The Vampyre: A Tale' .
Loved it
I loved this book and have a new respect for the Victorian novel. Not only have I learned things I never knew of a story so well known, but I have found a book I truly loved.I was told of plot holes and how repetitive it was, I found none of these, with the exception of Shelley's penchant for the words benevolent, malignant, evil, fiend and wretch. I thought this book was well constructed and captivating. It was a great experience to finally read the true original that so much of modern entertainment would not exist without. There are also a number or beautifully written sentences that are entirely quote worthy. So if you're an underliner, read with a pen close by As reviewed by 55st
QBD the bookshop, 31/07/2014
