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Science Fiction

Frankenstein

Or, The Modern Prometheus

by Mary Shelley

A tragic scientist creates a monster in his laboratory.

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First published
1818; revised 1831
Length
77,969 words
Reading time
About 5 hr 25 min
Language
English (UK)

About the book

Mary Shelley (then Godwin) and Percy Bysshe Shelley were visiting their friend Lord Byron in Geneva one rainy summer. With the weather against them, they decided to spend their time writing ghost stories for each other. Frankenstein is Mary Shelley’s submission to their contest, later published anonymously in 1818.

Victor Frankenstein, a strange but brilliant scientist, discovers a method of imparting life to inanimate matter. The Monster is thus born: a hideous, 8-foot-tall creature of muscle, speed, and intellect. Frankenstein’s rejection of his appalling creation sends it into a spiral of despair, and Frankenstein’s life is never the same.

Considered by many to be the first science fiction novel, Frankenstein is a powerful narrative that explores complex themes of belonging, morality, and the consequences of the power over life and death. This edition is based on Shelley’s revised 1831 edition.

the Read4Max reading text contains approximately 77,969 words arranged in 34 navigable sections.

About the author

Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley (1797–1851) is described by Wikidata as English writer (1797–1851), with citizenship or national association recorded as United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Kingdom of Great Britain, and United Kingdom.

Recorded occupations include writer, travel writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, and biographer. Languages recorded for Mary Shelley include English. The structured record associates Mary Shelley with British Romanticism. Wikidata lists The Last Man and Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus among Mary Shelley's notable works. Open Library identifies Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus as a leading work in its author record. Open Library catalogs 683 works under this author record. The Read4Max catalog currently includes Frankenstein under Mary Shelley's authorship.

1797–1851

Reading options

  • A complete text with direct section navigation in the browser reader.
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  • Book and contributor metadata are checked against the source edition before indexing.

Themes and ideas

  • Science fiction
  • Horror tales
  • Gothic fiction (Literary genre)
  • Scientists
  • Monsters
  • Frankenstein, Victor (Fictitious character)
  • Frankenstein's monster (Fictitious character)

Table of contents

Open reader
Show all 34 sections
  1. Introduction
  2. Preface
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. Frankenstein
  6. Letter I
  7. Letter II
  8. Letter III
  9. Letter IV
  10. Chapter I
  11. Chapter II
  12. Chapter III
  13. Chapter IV
  14. Chapter V
  15. Chapter VI
  16. Chapter VII
  17. Chapter VIII
  18. Chapter IX
  19. Chapter X
  20. Chapter XI
  21. Chapter XII
  22. Chapter XIII
  23. Chapter XIV
  24. Chapter XV
  25. Chapter XVI
  26. Chapter XVII
  27. Chapter XVIII
  28. Chapter XIX
  29. Chapter XX
  30. Chapter XXI
  31. Chapter XXII
  32. Chapter XXIII
  33. Chapter XXIV
  34. Endnotes
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