Frankenstein - wikipedia Frankenstein This article is about a novel by Mary Shelley. For the characters, see Victor Frankenstein and Frankenstein 's monster. For the historic German castles and other uses, see Frankenstein ( disambiguation ). Frankenstein ; or, The Modern Prometheus Volume I, first edition Author Mary Shelley Country United Kingdom Language English Genre Gothic novel, Horror fiction, Soft science fiction Published 1 January 1818 ( Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones ) Pages 280 Frankenstein ; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by English author Mary Shelley ( 1797 - 1851 ) that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a grotesque but sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition of the novel was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared on the second edition, published in France in 1823. Shelley travelled through Europe in 1814, journeying along the river Rhine in Germany with a stop in Gernsheim which is 17 km ( 10 mi ) away from Frankenstein Castle, where, two centuries before, an alchemist was engaged in experiments. Later, she travelled in the region of Geneva ( Switzerland ) -- where much of the story takes place -- and the topic of galvanism and other similar occult ideas were themes of conversation among her companions, particularly her lover and future husband, Percy Shelley. Mary, Percy, Lord Byron and John Polidori decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story. After thinking for days, Shelley dreamt about a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made ; her dream later evolved into the novel 's story. Frankenstein is infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement. At the same time, it is an early example of science fiction. Brian Aldiss has argued that it should be considered the first true science fiction story because, in contrast to previous stories with fantastical elements resembling those of later science fiction, the central character `` makes a deliberate decision '' and `` turns to modern experiments in the laboratory '' to achieve fantastic results. It has had a considerable influence in literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories, films and plays. Since the novel 's publication, the name `` Frankenstein '' has often been used to refer to the monster itself. This usage is sometimes considered erroneous, but usage commentators regard it as well - established and acceptable. In the novel, the monster is identified by words such as `` creature '', `` monster '', `` demon '', `` wretch, '' `` abortion, '' and `` it ''. Speaking to Victor Frankenstein, the wretch refers to himself as `` the Adam of your labours '', and elsewhere as someone who `` would have ( been ) your Adam '', but is instead `` your fallen angel '' ( which ties to Lucifer in Paradise Lost, which the monster reads, and relates to the `` modern '' Prometheus of the book 's subtitle ). Contents 1 Summary 1.1 Captain Walton 's introductory frame narrative 1.2 Victor Frankenstein 's narrative 1.3 Captain Walton 's concluding frame narrative 2 Characters 3 Composition 4 Publication 5 Frankenstein and the Monster 5.1 The creature 5.2 Victor Frankenstein 's surname 5.3 Victor Frankenstein 's given name 5.4 Modern Prometheus 6 Shelley 's sources 7 Reception 8 Derivative works 9 Films, plays and television 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 Further reading 13.1 Editions 13.1. 1 1818 text 13.1. 2 1832 text 14 External links Summary A variety of different editions Frankenstein is written in the form of a frame story that starts with Captain Robert Walton writing letters to his sister. It takes place at an unspecified time in the 18th century, as the letters ' dates are given as `` 17 -- ''. Captain Walton 's introductory frame narrative The novel Frankenstein is written in epistolary form, documenting a fictional correspondence between Captain Robert Walton and his sister, Margaret Walton Saville. Walton is a failed writer and captain who sets out to explore the North Pole and expand his scientific knowledge in hopes of achieving fame. During the voyage, the crew spots a dog sled driven by a gigantic figure. A few hours later, the crew rescues a nearly frozen and emaciated man named Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein has been in pursuit of the gigantic man observed by Walton 's crew. Frankenstein starts to recover from his exertion ; he sees in Walton the same obsession that has destroyed him, and recounts a story of his life 's miseries to Walton as a warning. The recounted story serves as the frame for Frankenstein 's narrative. Victor Frankenstein 's narrative Victor begins by telling of his childhood. Born in Naples, into a wealthy Genevan family, Victor and his brothers, Ernest and William, all three being sons of Alphonse Frankenstein by the former Caroline Beaufort, are encouraged to seek a greater understanding of the world through chemistry. As a young boy, Victor is obsessed with studying outdated theories that focus on simulating natural wonders. When Victor is five years old, his parents adopt Elizabeth Lavenza, the orphaned daughter of an expropriated Italian nobleman, with whom Victor later falls in love. ( During this period, Victor 's parents, Alphonse and Caroline, take in yet another orphan, Justine Moritz, who becomes William 's nanny. ) Weeks before he leaves for the University of Ingolstadt in Germany, his mother dies of scarlet fever ; Victor buries himself in his experiments to deal with the grief. At the university, he excels at chemistry and other sciences, soon developing a secret technique to impart life to non-living matter. Eventually, he undertakes the creation of a humanoid, but due to the difficulty in replicating the minute parts of the human body, Victor makes the Creature tall, about 8 feet ( 2.4 m ) in height and proportionally large. Despite his intentions, the beautiful creation of his dreams is instead hideous, with yellow eyes and skin that barely conceals the muscle tissue and blood vessels underneath. Repulsed by his work, Victor flees and dismisses him when it awakens. While wandering the streets, he meets his childhood friend, Henry Clerval, and takes Henry back to his apartment, fearful of Henry 's reaction if he sees the monster. Victor does not have to deal with that issue, however, because the monster has escaped. Victor falls ill from the experience and is nursed back to health by Henry. After a four - month recovery, he returns home when he learns of the murder of his brother William. Upon arriving in Geneva, Victor sees the Creature near the crime scene and climbing a mountain, leading him to believe his creation is responsible. Justine Moritz, William 's nanny, is convicted of the crime after William 's locket, which had contained a miniature portrait of Caroline, is found in her pocket. Victor is helpless to stop her from being hanged, as he knows no one would believe his story. Ravaged by grief and guilt, Victor retreats into the mountains. The Creature finds him and pleads for Victor to hear his tale. Intelligent and articulate, the Creature relates his first days of life, living alone in the wilderness and finding that people were afraid of and hated him due to his appearance, which led him to fear and hide from them. While living in an abandoned structure connected to a cottage, he grew fond of the poor family living there, and discreetly collected firewood for them. Secretly living among the family for months, the Creature learned to speak by listening to them and he taught himself to read after discovering a lost satchel of books in the woods. When he saw his reflection in a pool, he realized his physical appearance was hideous, and it terrified him as it terrifies normal humans. Nevertheless, he approached the family in hopes of becoming their friend. Initially he was able to befriend the blind father figure of the family, but the rest of them were frightened and they all fled their home, resulting in the Creature burning the cottage in a fit of rage. He then swore revenge on his creator for bringing him into a world that hated him. He traveled to Victor 's family estate using details from Victor 's journal, murdered William, and framed Justine. The Creature demands that Victor create a female companion like himself. He argues that as a living being, he has a right to happiness. The Creature promises that he and his mate will vanish into the South American wilderness, never to reappear, if Victor grants his request. Should Victor refuse his request, The Creature also threatens to kill Victor 's remaining friends and loved ones and not stop until he completely ruins him. Fearing for his family, Victor reluctantly agrees, with the Creature saying he will secretly watch over Victor 's progress. Clerval accompanies him to England, but they separate at Victor 's insistence at Perth, Scotland. Victor suspects that the Creature is following him. Working on the female creature on the Orkney Islands, he is plagued by premonitions of disaster, such as the female hating the Creature or becoming more evil than him, but more particularly the two creatures might lead to the breeding of a race that could plague mankind. He tears apart the unfinished female creature after he sees the Creature, who had indeed followed Victor, watching through a window. The Creature later confronts and tries to threaten Victor into working again, but Victor is convinced that the Creature is evil and that its mate would be evil as well, and the pair would threaten all humanity. Victor destroys his work and the Creature vows that he will `` be with ( him ) on ( his ) wedding night. '' Victor interprets this as a threat upon his life, believing that the Creature will kill him after finally becoming happy. When Victor lands in Ireland, he is soon imprisoned for Clerval 's murder, as the Creature had strangled Clerval to death and left the corpse to be found where his creator had arrived, causing the latter to suffer another mental breakdown in prison. After being acquitted, Victor returns home with his father, who has restored to Elizabeth some of her father 's fortune. In Geneva, Victor is about to marry Elizabeth and prepares to fight the Creature to the death, arming himself with pistols and a dagger. The night following their wedding, Victor asks Elizabeth to stay in her room while he looks for `` the fiend. '' While Victor searches the house and grounds, the Creature strangles Elizabeth to death. From the window, Victor sees the Creature, who tauntingly points at Elizabeth 's corpse ; Victor tries to shoot him, but the Creature escapes. After getting back to Geneva, Victor 's father, weakened by age and by the death of his precious Elizabeth, dies a few days later. Seeking revenge, Victor pursues the Creature to the North Pole, but collapses from exhaustion and hypothermia before he can find his quarry. Captain Walton 's concluding frame narrative At the end of Victor 's narrative, Captain Walton resumes the telling of the story, closing the frame around Victor 's recounting. A few days after the Creature vanished, the ship becomes trapped in pack ice and multiple crewmen die in the cold, before the rest of Walton 's crew insists on returning south once it is freed. Walton sees Victor 's story as a warning, and decides to turn the ship around. Victor dies shortly thereafter, but not before telling Walton to `` avoid ambition ''. Walton discovers the Creature on his ship, mourning over Victor 's body. The Creature tells Walton that Victor 's death has not brought him peace ; rather, his crimes have left him completely alone. The Creature vows to kill himself so that no others will ever know of his existence. Walton watches as the Creature drifts away on an ice raft that is soon lost in darkness and distance, never to be seen again. Characters Victor Frankenstein - Protagonist and narrator of most of the story. Creates the monster. The creature ( Frankenstein 's monster ) - The hideous creature created by Victor Frankenstein. Mrs. Margaret Saville - Resident of England. Sister of Robert Walton. Addressee of letters written by him. Captain Robert Walton - Captain of the boat which picked up Victor. Brother of Mrs. Margaret Saville, and writer of letters addressed to her. Beaufort - A Merchant. Caroline Beaufort 's father. One of the most intimate friends of Victor 's father. Caroline Beaufort - Beaufort 's daughter, Victor 's mother. Ernest - Victor 's brother. Seven years younger than Victor. Henry Clerval - Victor 's best friend from childhood. The son of a merchant of Geneva. Justine Moritz - Daughter of Madame Moritz. Moved in with the Frankenstein family at age of 12. Elizabeth Lavenza - Daughter of a Milanese nobleman. Her mother was a German and had died on giving birth to her. Raised as Victor 's `` cousin '' in the Frankenstein home. William - Victor 's youngest brother. M. Krempe - professor of natural philosophy at university of Ingolstadt. He was an uncouth man, but deeply imbued in the secrets of his science. Influenced Victor. M. Waldman - A professor, at Ingolstadt. Influenced Victor. Agatha - Daughter of De Lacey. Felix 's sister. Felix - Son of De Lacey. De Lacey - Blind old man descended from a good family in France. Father of Agatha and Felix. His family was observed by the monster, and unbeknownst to them, taught him to speak and read. Safie - Daughter of a Turkish Merchant and a Christian Arab. Mr. Kirwin - A magistrate. Daniel Nugent - A witness against Victor in his murder trial. Composition Draft of Frankenstein ( `` It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld my man completed... '' ) `` How I, then a young girl, came to think of, and to dilate upon, so very hideous an idea ? '' -- Mary Shelley During the rainy summer of 1816, the `` Year Without a Summer '', the world was locked in a long cold volcanic winter caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. Mary Shelley, aged 18, and her lover ( and later husband ) Percy Bysshe Shelley, visited Lord Byron at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The weather was consistently too cold and dreary that summer to enjoy the outdoor holiday activities they had planned, so the group retired indoors until dawn. Sitting around a log fire at Byron 's villa, the company amused themselves by reading German ghost stories translated into French from the book Fantasmagoriana, then Byron proposed that they `` each write a ghost story ''. Unable to think of a story, young Mary became anxious : `` Have you thought of a story ? I was asked each morning, and each morning I was forced to reply with a mortifying negative. '' During one evening in the middle of summer, the discussions turned to the nature of the principle of life. `` Perhaps a corpse would be re-animated '', Mary noted, `` galvanism had given token of such things ''. It was after midnight before they retired, and unable to sleep, she became possessed by her imagination as she beheld the grim terrors of her `` waking dream ''. I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion. Frightful must it be ; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world. In September 2011, astronomer Donald Olson, after a visit to the Lake Geneva villa the previous year, and inspecting data about the motion of the moon and stars, concluded that her `` waking dream '' took place `` between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. '' on 16 June 1816, several days after the initial idea by Lord Byron that they each write a ghost story. She began writing what she assumed would be a short story. With Percy Shelley 's encouragement, she expanded the tale into a full - fledged novel. She later described that summer in Switzerland as the moment `` when I first stepped out from childhood into life ''. Shelley wrote the first four chapters in the weeks following the suicide of her half - sister Fanny. Byron managed to write just a fragment based on the vampire legends he heard while travelling the Balkans, and from this John Polidori created The Vampyre ( 1819 ), the progenitor of the romantic vampire literary genre. Thus two legendary horror tales originated from the conclave. The group talked about Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment ideas as well. Shelley believed the Enlightenment idea that society could progress and grow if political leaders used their powers responsibly ; however, she also believed the Romantic ideal that misused power could destroy society ( Bennett 36 -- 42 ). Mary 's and Percy Bysshe Shelley 's manuscripts for the first three - volume edition in 1818 ( written 1816 -- 1817 ), as well as Mary Shelley 's fair copy for her publisher, are now housed in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The Bodleian acquired the papers in 2004, and they belong now to the Abinger Collection. In 2008, the Bodleian published a new edition of Frankenstein, edited by Charles E. Robinson, that contains comparisons of Mary Shelley 's original text with Percy Shelley 's additions and interventions alongside. Publication Mary Shelley by Richard Rothwell ( 1840 -- 41 ) Shelley completed her writing in April / May 1817, and Frankenstein ; or, The Modern Prometheus was published on 1 January 1818 by the small London publishing house Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones. It was issued anonymously, with a preface written for Mary by Percy Bysshe Shelley and with a dedication to philosopher William Godwin, her father. It was published in an edition of just 500 copies in three volumes, the standard `` triple - decker '' format for 19th - century first editions. The second edition of Frankenstein was published on 11 August 1822 in two volumes ( by G. and W.B. Whittaker ) following the success of the stage play Presumption ; or, the Fate of Frankenstein by Richard Brinsley Peake. This edition credited Mary Shelley as the book 's author on its title page. On 31 October 1831, the first `` popular '' edition in one - volume appeared, published by Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley. This edition was heavily revised by Mary Shelley, partially to make the story less radical. It included a lengthy new preface by the author, presenting a somewhat embellished version of the genesis of the story. This edition is the one most widely published and read now, although a few editions follow the 1818 text. Some scholars prefer the original version, arguing that it preserves the spirit of Mary Shelley 's vision ( see Anne K. Mellor 's `` Choosing a Text of Frankenstein to Teach '' in the W.W. Norton Critical edition ). In 2008, a new edition of the novel, titled The Original Frankenstein, edited by Charles E. Robinson, was published. Robinson examined the original manuscript by Mary Shelley and noted the edits that Percy Bysshe Shelley made to it. Frankenstein and the monster The Creature Main article : Frankenstein 's monster An English editorial cartoonist conceives the Irish Fenian movement as akin to Frankenstein 's creature, in the wake of the Phoenix Park murders. Illustration from an 1882 issue of Punch Part of Frankenstein 's rejection of his creation is the fact that he does not give it a name, which causes a lack of identity. Instead it is referred to by words such as `` wretch '', `` monster '', `` creature '', `` demon '', `` devil '', `` fiend '', and `` it ''. When Frankenstein converses with the creature in Chapter 10, he addresses it as `` vile insect '', `` abhorred monster '', `` fiend '', `` wretched devil '', and `` abhorred devil ''. During a telling of Frankenstein, Shelley referred to the creature as `` Adam ''. Shelley was referring to the first man in the Garden of Eden, as in her epigraph : Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mould Me man ? Did I solicit thee From darkness to promote me ? John Milton, Paradise Lost ( X. 743 -- 5 ) Although the creature would be described in later works as a composite of whole body parts grafted together from cadavers and reanimated by the use of electricity, this description is not entirely consistent with Shelley 's work ; both the use of electricity and the cobbled - together image of Frankenstein 's monster were more the result of James Whale 's popular 1931 film adaptation of the story, and other early motion - picture works based upon the creature. In Shelley 's original work, Dr. Frankenstein discovers a previously unknown but elemental principle of life, and that insight allows him to develop a method to imbue vitality into inanimate matter, though the exact nature of the process is left largely ambiguous. After a great deal of hesitation in exercising this power, the doctor spends two years painstakingly constructing the creature 's body ( one anatomical feature at a time, from raw materials supplied by `` the dissecting room and the slaughter - house '' ), which he then brings to life using his unspecified process. The creature has often been mistakenly called `` Frankenstein ''. In 1908 one author said `` It is strange to note how well - nigh universally the term `` Frankenstein '' is misused, even by intelligent people, as describing some hideous monster ``. Edith Wharton 's The Reef ( 1916 ) describes an unruly child as an `` infant Frankenstein. '' David Lindsay 's `` The Bridal Ornament '', published in The Rover, 12 June 1844, mentioned `` the maker of poor Frankenstein. '' After the release of Whale 's cinematic Frankenstein, the public at large began speaking of the creature itself as `` Frankenstein ''. This also occurs in Frankenstein films, including Bride of Frankenstein ( 1935 ) and several subsequent films, as well as in film titles such as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Furthermore, future renditions and adaptations of the story include an evil laboratory assistant Igor or Ygor, who does not actually exist within the original narrative. Victor Frankenstein 's surname Mary Shelley maintained that she derived the name Frankenstein from a dream - vision. Despite her public claims of originality, however, a number of other sources have been suggested as Shelley 's actual inspiration. The German name Frankenstein means `` stone of the Franks '', and it is associated with various places in Germany, including Frankenstein Castle ( Burg Frankenstein ) in Darmstadt, Hesse, and Frankenstein Castle in Frankenstein, a town in the Palatinate. There is also a castle called Frankenstein in Bad Salzungen, Thuringia, and a municipality called Frankenstein in Saxony. Until 1945, Ząbkowice Śląskie, now a city in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, was mainly populated by Germans and named Frankenstein in German, and was the site of a scandal involving gravediggers in 1606, which has been suggested as an inspiration to the author. Finally, the name is borne by the aristocratic House of Franckenstein from Franconia. Radu Florescu argues that Mary and Percy Shelley visited Frankenstein Castle near Darmstadt in 1814 during their return to England from their elopement to Switzerland. It was at this castle that a notorious alchemist, Conrad Dippel, had experimented with human bodies, and Florescu reasons that Mary suppressed mention of her visit in order to maintain her public claim of originality. A literary essay by A. J. Day supports Florescu 's position that Mary Shelley knew of and visited Frankenstein Castle before writing her debut novel. Day includes details of an alleged description of the Frankenstein castle that exists in Mary Shelley 's ' lost ' journals. According to Jörg Heléne, the ' lost journals ', as well as Florescu 's claims, can not be verified. Victor Frankenstein 's given name Main article : Victor Frankenstein A possible interpretation of the name Victor is derived from Paradise Lost by John Milton, a great influence on Shelley ( a quotation from Paradise Lost is on the opening page of Frankenstein and Shelley even has the monster himself read it ). Milton frequently refers to God as `` the Victor '' in Paradise Lost, and Shelley sees Victor as playing God by creating life. In addition, Shelley 's portrayal of the monster owes much to the character of Satan in Paradise Lost ; indeed, the monster says, after reading the epic poem, that he empathizes with Satan 's role in the story. There are many similarities between Victor and Percy Shelley, Mary 's husband. Victor was a pen name of Percy Shelley 's, as in the collection of poetry he wrote with his sister Elizabeth, Original Poetry by Victor and Cazire. There is speculation that one of Mary Shelley 's models for Victor Frankenstein was Percy, who at Eton had `` experimented with electricity and magnetism as well as with gunpowder and numerous chemical reactions '', and whose rooms at Oxford were filled with scientific equipment. Percy Shelley was the first - born son of a wealthy country squire with strong political connections and a descendant of Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet of Castle Goring, and Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel. Victor 's family is one of the most distinguished of that republic and his ancestors were counselors and syndics. Percy had a sister named Elizabeth ; Victor had an adopted sister named Elizabeth. On 22 February 1815, Mary Shelley gave birth to a baby two months prematurely, and the baby died two weeks later. Percy did not care about the condition of this premature infant and left with Claire, Mary 's stepsister, for a lurid affair. When Victor saw the creature come to life he fled the apartment, though the newborn creature approached him, as a child would a parent. The question of Victor 's responsibility to the creature is one of the main themes of the book. Modern Prometheus The Modern Prometheus is the novel 's subtitle ( though some modern editions now drop the subtitle, mentioning it only in an introduction ). Prometheus, in later versions of Greek mythology, was the Titan who created mankind at the behest of Zeus. He made a being in the image of the gods that could have a spirit breathed into it. Prometheus taught man to hunt, read, and heal their sick, but after he tricked Zeus into accepting poor - quality offerings from humans, Zeus kept fire from mankind. Prometheus, being the creator, took back the fire from Zeus to give to man. When Zeus discovered this, he sentenced Prometheus to be eternally punished by fixing him to a rock of Caucasus, where each day an eagle would peck out his liver, only for the liver to regrow the next day because of his immortality as a god. He was intended to suffer alone for eternity, but eventually Heracles ( Hercules ) released him. Prometheus was also a myth told in Latin, but was a very different story. In this version Prometheus makes man from clay and water, again a very relevant theme to Frankenstein, as Victor rebels against the laws of nature ( how life is naturally made ) and as a result is punished by his creation. In 1910, Edison Studios released the first motion - picture adaptation of Shelley 's story. The Titan in the Greek mythology of Prometheus parallels Victor Frankenstein. Victor 's work by creating man by new means reflects the same innovative work of the Titan in creating humans. Some have claimed that Mary Shelley saw Prometheus not as a hero but rather as something of a devil, and blamed him for bringing fire to man and thereby seducing the human race to the vice of eating meat ( fire brought cooking which brought hunting and killing ). Byron was particularly attached to the play Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, and Percy Shelley would soon write his own Prometheus Unbound ( 1820 ). The term `` Modern Prometheus '' was actually coined by Immanuel Kant in reference to Benjamin Franklin and his experiments with electricity. Shelley 's sources Shelley incorporated a number of different sources into her work, one of which was the Promethean myth from Ovid. The influence of John Milton 's Paradise Lost, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge 's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, are also clearly evident within the novel. Mary is likely to have acquired some ideas for Frankenstein 's character from Humphry Davy 's book Elements of Chemical Philosophy, in which he had written that `` science has... bestowed upon man powers which may be called creative ; which have enabled him to change and modify the beings around him... ''. References to the French Revolution run through the novel ; a possible source may lie in François - Félix Nogaret 's Le Miroir des événemens actuels, ou la Belle au plus offrant ( 1790 ) : a political parable about scientific progress featuring an inventor named Frankénsteïn who creates a life - sized automaton. Within the past thirty years or so, many writers and historians have attempted to associate several then popular natural philosophers ( now called physical scientists ) with Shelley 's work on account of several notable similarities. Two of the most notable natural philosophers among Shelley 's contemporaries were Giovanni Aldini, who made many public attempts at human reanimation through bio-electric Galvanism in London and Johann Konrad Dippel, who was supposed to have developed chemical means to extend the life span of humans. While Shelley was obviously aware of both these men and their activities, she makes no mention of or reference to them or their experiments in any of her published or released notes. Reception Illustration by Theodor von Holst from the frontispiece of the 1831 edition Frankenstein has been both well received and disregarded since its anonymous publication in 1818. Critical reviews of that time demonstrate these two views, along with confused speculation as to the identity of the author. The Belle Assemblee described the novel as `` very bold fiction '' ( 139 ). The Quarterly Review stated that `` the author has the power of both conception and language '' ( 185 ). Sir Walter Scott, writing in Blackwood 's Edinburgh Magazine congratulated `` the author 's original genius and happy power of expression '' ( 620 ), although he is less convinced about the way in which the monster gains knowledge about the world and language. The Edinburgh Magazine and Literary Miscellany hoped to see `` more productions from this author '' ( 253 ). On the other hand, the Quarterly Review described it `` a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity ''. In two other reviews where the author is known as the daughter of William Godwin, the criticism of the novel makes reference to the feminine nature of Mary Shelley. The British Critic attacks the novel 's flaws as the fault of the author : `` The writer of it is, we understand, a female ; this is an aggravation of that which is the prevailing fault of the novel ; but if our authoress can forget the gentleness of her sex, it is no reason why we should ; and we shall therefore dismiss the novel without further comment '' ( 438 ). The Literary Panorama and National Register attacks the novel as a `` feeble imitation of Mr. Godwin 's novels '' produced by the `` daughter of a celebrated living novelist '' ( 414 ). Despite the reviews, Frankenstein achieved an almost immediate popular success. It became widely known especially through melodramatic theatrical adaptations -- Mary Shelley saw a production of Presumption ; or The Fate of Frankenstein, a play by Richard Brinsley Peake, in 1823. A French translation appeared as early as 1821 ( Frankenstein : ou le Prométhée Moderne, translated by Jules Saladin ). Critical reception of Frankenstein has been largely positive since the mid-20th century. Major critics such as M.A. Goldberg and Harold Bloom have praised the `` aesthetic and moral '' relevance of the novel, although there are also critics such as Germaine Greer, who criticized the novel as terrible due to technical and narrative defects ( such as it featuring three narrators that speak in the same way ). In more recent years the novel has become a popular subject for psychoanalytic and feminist criticism : Lawrence Lipking states ' even the Lacanian subgroup of psychoanalytic criticism, for instance, has produced at least half a dozen discrete readings of the novel ' The novel today is generally considered to be a landmark work of romantic and gothic literature, as well as science fiction. Derivative works There are numerous novels retelling or continuing the story of Frankenstein and his monster. For more details on derivative works, see Frankenstein in popular culture. Films, plays and television This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2017 ) See also : List of films featuring Frankenstein 's monster A photo of Charles Ogle as the monster in Frankenstein ( 1910 ) A promotional photo of Boris Karloff, as Frankenstein 's monster, using Jack Pierce 's makeup design 1823 : Richard Brinsley Peake 's adaptation, Presumption ; or, the Fate of Frankenstein, was seen by Mary Shelley and her father William Godwin at the English Opera House. 1826 : Henry M. Milner 's adaptation, The Man and The Monster ; or The Fate of Frankenstein opened on 3 July at the Royal Coburg Theatre, London. 1910 : Edison Studios produced the first Frankenstein film, directed by J. Searle Dawley. 1915 : Life Without Soul, the second film adaptation of Mary Shelley 's novel, was released. No known print of the film has survived. 1920 : The Monster of Frankenstein, Directed by Eugenio Testa, starring Luciano Albertini and Umberto Guarracino. 1931 : Universal Studios ' Frankenstein, directed by James Whale, starring Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan, Dwight Frye, and Boris Karloff as the monster. 1935 : James Whale directed the sequel Bride of Frankenstein, starring Colin Clive as the Doctor, and Boris Karloff as the monster once more. This incorporated the novel 's plot motif of Doctor Frankenstein creating a bride for the monster omitted from Whale 's earlier film. There were two more sequels, prior to the Universal `` monster rally '' films combining multiple monsters from various movie series or film franchises. 1939 : Son of Frankenstein was another Universal monster movie with Boris Karloff as the Creature. Also in the film were Basil Rathbone as the title character and Bela Lugosi as the sinister assistant Ygor. Karloff ended playing the Frankenstein monster with this film. 1942 : The Ghost of Frankenstein featured brain transplanting and a new monster, played by Lon Chaney Jr. The film also starred Evelyn Ankers and Bela Lugosi. 1942 -- 1948 : Universal did `` monster rally '' films featuring Frankenstein 's Monster, Dracula and the Wolf Man. Included would be Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The last three films introduced Glenn Strange as Frankenstein 's monster. 1957 -- 1974 : Hammer Films in England did a string of Frankenstein films starring Peter Cushing, including The Curse of Frankenstein, The Revenge of Frankenstein and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. Co-starring in these films were Christopher Lee, Hazel Court, Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. Another Hammer film, The Horror of Frankenstein, starred Ralph Bates as the main character, Victor Frankenstein. 1965 : Toho Studios created the film Frankenstein Conquers the World or Frankenstein vs. Baragon, followed by The War of the Gargantuas. 1972 : A comedic stage adaptation, Frankenstein 's Monster, was written by Sally Netzel and produced by the Dallas Theater Center. 1973 : The TV film Frankenstein : The True Story appeared on NBC. The movie starred Leonard Whiting, Michael Sarrazin, James Mason, and Jane Seymour. 1981 : A Broadway adaptation by Victor Gialanella played for one performance ( after 29 previews ) and was considered the most expensive flop ever produced to that date. 1984 : The flop Broadway production yielded a TV film starring Robert Powell, Carrie Fisher, David Warner, and John Gielgud. 1992 : Frankenstein became a Turner Network Television film directed by David Wickes, starring Patrick Bergin and Randy Quaid. John Mills played the blind man. 1994 : Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein appeared in theatres, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, with Robert De Niro and Helena Bonham Carter. Its all - star cast also included John Cleese, Ian Holm, and Tom Hulce. 2004 : Frankenstein A 2 episode mini-series starring Alec Newman, with Luke Goss and Donald Sutherland. This is the only T.V. or movie adaption that is faithful to the novel. 2011 : In March, BBC3 broadcast Colin Teague 's live production from Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds, billed as Frankenstein 's Wedding, Live in Leeds. About the same time, the National Theatre, London presented a stage version of Frankenstein, which ran until 2 May 2011. The play was written by Nick Dear and directed by Danny Boyle. Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch alternated the roles of Frankenstein and the Creature. The National Theatre broadcast live performances of the play worldwide ( at 13 : 00 and 19 : 30 ) on 17 March. 2012 : An interactive ebook app created by Inkle and Profile Books that retells the story with added interactive elements. 2014 : Penny Dreadful is a horror TV series that airs on Showtime, that features Doctor Victor Frankenstein as well as his creature. 2015 : Frankenstein, a modern - day adaptation written and directed by Bernard Rose. 2015 : Victor Frankenstein is an American film directed by Paul McGuigan. 2016 : Frankenstein, a full length ballet production by Liam Scarlett. Some performances were also live simulcasts worldwide. 2019 : Bride of Frankenstein, the currently postponed second film in the Dark Universe, a reboot of the Universal series in which Javier Bardem is currently slated to portray Frankenstein 's monster. Loose adaptations 1967 : I 'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You 'll Have to Spend the Night and its sequel, Frankenstein Unbound ( Another Monster Musical ), are a pair of musical comedies written by Bobby Pickett and Sheldon Allman. The casts of both feature several classic horror characters including Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. 1973 : The Rocky Horror Show, is a British horror comedy stage musical written by Richard O'Brian in which Dr. Frank N. Furter has created a creature ( Rocky ), to satisfy his ( pro ) creative drives. Elements are similar to I 'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You 'll Have to Spend the Night. 1973 : Andy Warhol 's Frankenstein. Usually, the doctor is a man whose dedication to science takes him too far, but here his interest is to rule the world by creating a new species that will obey him and do his bidding. 1974 : Young Frankenstein. Directed by Mel Brooks, this sequel - spoof has been listed as one of the best movie comedies of any comedy genre ever made, even prompting an American film preservation program to include it on its listings. It reuses many props from James Whale 's 1931 Frankenstein and is shot in black - and - white with 1930s - style credits. Gene Wilder portrayed the descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, with Peter Boyle as the Monster. 1975 : The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show ( 1973 ), written by Richard O'Brien. 1984 : Frankenweenie is a parody short film directed by Tim Burton, starring Barrett Oliver, Shelley Duvall and Daniel Stern. 1985 : The Bride starring Sting as Baron Charles Frankenstein and Jennifer Beals as Eva, a woman he creates in the same fashion as his infamous monster. 1986 : Gothic, directed by Ken Russell, is the story of the night that Mary Shelley gave birth to Frankenstein. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson. 1988 : Frankenstein ( フランケン シュタイン ) is a manga adaptation of Shelley 's novel by Junji Ito. 1989 : Frankenstein the Panto. A pantomime script by David Swan, combining elements of Frankenstein, Dracula, and traditional British panto. 1990 : Frankenstein Unbound. Combines a time - travel story with the story of Shelley 's novel. Scientist Joe Buchanan accidentally creates a time - rift which takes him back to the events of the novel. Filmed as a low - budget independent film in 1990, based on a novel published in 1973 by Brian Aldiss. This novel bears no relation to the 1967 stage musical with the same name listed above. 1995 : Monster Mash is a film adaptation of I 'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You 'll Have to Spend the Night starring Bobby Pickett as Dr. Frankenstein. The film also features Candace Cameron Bure, Anthony Crivello and Mink Stole. 1998 : Billy Frankenstein is a very loose adaptation about a boy who moves into a mansion with his family and brings the Frankenstein monster to life. The film was directed by Fred Olen Ray. 2003 : Reading Frankenstein, a new media performance work in which Mary Shelley is a genetic engineer and artificial life scientist and her Creature a hybrid form of computational a-life. It was co-created by director Annie Loui and artist - writer Antoinette LaFarge for UC Irvine. 2004 : Frankenstein made - for - TV film based on Dean Koontz 's Frankenstein. 2005 : Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove, a 90 - minute feature film homage of classic monsters and Atomic Age creature features, shot in black and white, and directed by William Winckler. The Frankenstein Monster design and make - up was based on the character descriptions in Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 's novel. 2009 : The Diary of Anne Frankenstein, a short film from Chillerrama. 2009 : Anuman Interactive ( French publisher ) launches Frankestein, a hidden objects game freely inspired by Mary Shelley 's book, on iPhone and iPad. 2011 : Frankenstein : Day of the Beast is an independent horror film based loosely on the original book. 2011 : Victor Frankenstein appears in the ABC show Once Upon a Time, a fantasy series on ABC that features multiple characters from fairy tales and classic literature trapped in the real world. 2012 : Frankenweenie, Tim Burton 's feature film remake of his 1984 short film of the same name. 2012 : In the Adventure Time episode `` Princess Monster Wife '', the Ice King removes body parts from all the princesses that rejected him and creates a jigsaw wife to love him. 2012 : A Nightmare on Lime Street, Fred Lawless 's comedy play starring David Gest staged at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. 2014 : I, Frankenstein is a 2014 fantasy action film. The film stars Aaron Eckhart as Adam Frankenstein and Bill Nighy. The film is based on the graphic novel. 2014 : Frankenstein, MD, A web show by Pemberly Digital starring Victoria, a female adaptation of Victor. 2015 : The Supernatural season 10 episodes Book of the Damned, Dark Dynasty and The Prisoner feature the Styne Family which member Eldon Styne identifies as the descendants of the house of Frankenstein. According to Eldon, Mary Shelley had learned their secrets while on a visit to Castle Frankenstein and wrote a book based on her experiences, forcing the Frankensteins underground as the Stynes. The Stynes, through bioengineering and surgical enhancements, feature many of the superhuman features of Frankenstein 's monster. 2015 : The Frankenstein Chronicles, is a British television drama series - starring Sean Bean as John Marlott and Anna Maxwell Martin as Mary Shelley 2016 : Second Chance, a TV series known at one point as Frankenstein, was inspired by the classic. See also United Kingdom portal Books portal Frankenstein argument Frankenstein complex Frankenstein in Baghdad Frankenstein in popular culture Frankenstein 's monster Golem Homunculus Johann Conrad Dippel List of dreams Notes Jump up ^ Staff writer ( 1 January 1818 ). `` Books Published This Day ''. The Times ( 10342 ). London, England. p. 4 -- via Newspapers.com. This day is published, in 3 vols., price 16s. 6d., a Work of Imagination, to be entitled Frankenstein ; or, The Modern Prometheus. Jump up ^ Hobbler, Dorthy and Thomas. The Monsters : Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein. Back Bay Books ; 20 August 2007. Jump up ^ Garrett, Martin. Mary Shelley. Oxford University Press, 2002 Jump up ^ Seymour, Miranda. Mary Shelley. Atlanta, GA : Grove Press, 2002. pg 110 - 111 Jump up ^ The Detached Retina : Aspects of SF and Fantasy by Brian Aldiss ( 1995 ), page 78. Jump up ^ Bergen Evans, `` Comfortable Words, '' New York : Random House, 1957 Jump up ^ Bryan Garner, `` A Dictionary of Modern American Usage '', New York, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998 Jump up ^ `` Merriam - Webster 's Dictionary of American English '', Merriam - Webster : 2002 Jump up ^ `` Preface '', 1831 edition of Frankenstein Jump up ^ Sunstein, 118. Jump up ^ Dr. John Polidori, `` The Vampyre '' 1819, The New Monthly Magazine and Universal Register ; London : H. Colburn, 1814 -- 1820. Vol. 1, No. 63. Jump up ^ paragraph 7, Introduction, Frankenstein 1831 edition Jump up ^ paragraph 8, Introduction, Frankenstein 1831 edition Jump up ^ paragraph 10, Introduction, Frankenstein 1831 edition Jump up ^ Shelley, Mary. Paragraphs 11 -- 13, `` Introduction '' Frankenstein ( 1831 edition ) Gutenberg Jump up ^ Quoted in Spark, 157, from Mary Shelley 's introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein. Jump up ^ Radford, Tim, Frankenstein 's hour of creation identified by astronomers, The Guardian, Sunday 25 September 2011 ( retrieved 5 January 2014 ) Jump up ^ Bennett, An Introduction, 30 -- 31 ; Sunstein, 124. Jump up ^ Sunstein, 117. Jump up ^ Hay, 103. Jump up ^ Bennett, Betty T. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley : An Introduction. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. Jump up ^ `` OX.ac.uk ''. Bodley.ox.ac.uk. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010. Jump up ^ Mary Shelley, with Percy Shelley ( 2008 ). Charles E. Robinson, ed. The Original Frankenstein. Oxford : Bodleian Library. ISBN 978 - 1 - 851 - 24396 - 9. Jump up ^ Robinson, Charles ( 1996 ). The Frankenstein Notebooks : A Facsimile Edition. 1. Garland Publishing, Inc. p. xxv. She began that novel as Mary Godwin in June 1816 when she was eighteen years old, she finished it as Mary Shelley in April / May 1817 when she was nineteen... and she published it anonymously on 1 January 1818 when she was twenty. Jump up ^ Bennett, Betty T. Mary Wollstonecraft. Shelley : An Introduction. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998 Jump up ^ D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf, `` A Note on the Text '', Frankenstein, 2nd ed., Peterborough : Broadview Press, 1999. Jump up ^ Wollstonecraft Shelley, Mary ( 2000 ). Frankenstein. Bedford Publishing. p. 3. Jump up ^ See forward to Barnes and Noble classic edition. Jump up ^ The edition published by Forgotten Books is the original text, as is the `` Ignatius Critical Edition ''. Vintage Books has an edition presenting both versions. Jump up ^ James Grande ( 2008 - 11 - 25 ). `` The Original Frankenstein, By Mary Shelley with Percy Shelley ed Charles E Robinson ''. The Independent. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ Frankenstein : Celluloid Monster at the National Library of Medicine website of the ( U.S. ) National Institutes of Health Jump up ^ `` Frankenstein : Penetrating the Secrets of Nature / Exhibit Text '' ( PDF ). National Library of Medicine and ALA Public Programs Office. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 4 December 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2007. from the traveling exhibition Frankenstein : Penetrating the Secrets of Nature Archived 9 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Author 's Digest : The World 's Great Stories in Brief, by Rossiter Johnson, 1908 Jump up ^ The Reef, page 96. Jump up ^ zapomniana, Historia ( 24 January 2016 ). `` Afera grabarzy z Frankenstein ''. Jump up ^ Florescu 1996, pp. 48 -- 92. Jump up ^ Day, A.J. ( 2005 ). Fantasmagoriana ( Tales of the Dead ). Fantasmagoriana Press. pp. 149 -- 151. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4116 - 5291 - 0. Jump up ^ Helene, Jorge ( 12 September 2016 ). `` Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein, Castle Frankenstein and the alchemist Johann Conrad Dippel ''. Darmstadt. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 23. Jump up ^ Wade, Phillip. `` Shelley and the Miltonic Element in Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein. '' Milton and the Romantics, 2 ( December, 1976 ), 23 -- 25. Jump up ^ Jones 1952, pp. 496 -- 7. Jump up ^ Sandy, Mark ( 20 September 2002 ). `` Original Poetry by Victor and Cazire ''. The Literary Encyclopedia. The Literary Dictionary Company. Retrieved 2 January 2007. Jump up ^ `` Percy Bysshe Shelley ( 1792 -- 1822 ) ''. Romantic Natural History. Department of English, Dickinson College. Retrieved 2 January 2007. Jump up ^ Percy Shelley # Ancestry Jump up ^ `` Journal 6 December -- Very Unwell. Shelley & Clary walk out, as usual, to heaps of places... A letter from Hookham to say that Harriet has been brought to bed of a son and heir. Shelley writes a number of circular letters on this event, which ought to be ushered in with ringing of bells, etc., for it is the son of his wife. '' Quoted in Spark, 39. Jump up ^ For example, the Longman study edition published in India in 2007 by Pearson Education Jump up ^ In the best - known versions of the Prometheus story, by Hesiod and Aeschylus, Prometheus merely brings fire to mankind. But in other versions, such as several of Aesop 's fables ( See in particular Fable 516 ), Sappho ( Fragment 207 ), and Ovid 's Metamorphoses, Prometheus is the actual creator of humanity. Jump up ^ ( Leonard Wolf, p. 20 ). Jump up ^ RoyalSoc.ac.uk `` Benjamin Franklin in London. '' The Royal Society. Retrieved 8 August 2007. Jump up ^ Douthwaite, `` The Frankenstein of the French Revolution '' chapter 2 of The Frankenstein of 1790 and other Lost Chapters from Revolutionary France ( Frankenstein of 1790 and other Lost Chapters from Revolutionary France, 2012 ). Jump up ^ Ruston, Sharon ( 25 November 2015 ). `` The Science of Life and Death in Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein ''. The Public Domain Review. Jump up ^ This illustration is reprinted in the frontispiece to the 2008 edition of Frankenstein Jump up ^ `` Crossref-it.info ''. Crossref-it.info. Retrieved 28 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` Review of Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus ''. The Quarterly Review. 18 : 379 -- 385. January 1818. Jump up ^ `` Enotes.com ''. Enotes.com. Retrieved 28 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` KCTCS.edu ''. Octc.kctcs.edu. Retrieved 28 August 2010. Jump up ^ Germaine Greer ( 2007 - 04 - 09 ). `` Yes, Frankenstein really was written by Mary Shelley. It 's obvious - because the book is so bad ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ L Lipking Frankenstein the True Story ; or Rousseau Judges Jean - Jacques. ( Published in the Norton critical edition. 1996 ) Jump up ^ UTM.edu Lynn Alexander, Department of English, University of Tennessee at Martin. Retrieved 27 August 2009. Jump up ^ Lawson, Shanon ( 11 February 1998 ). `` A Chronology of the Life of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley : 1825 -- 1835 ''. umd.edu. Retrieved 8 July 2008. Jump up ^ Blood on the Stage, 1950 -- 1975 : Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery and Detection, by Amnon Kabatchnik. Scarecrow Press, 2011, p. 300 Jump up ^ Lawson, Carol ( 7 January 1981 ). `` '' FRANKENSTEIN '' NEARLY CAME BACK TO LIFE ``. New York Times. Retrieved 8 January 2014. Jump up ^ Hickling, Alfred ( 20 March 2011 ). `` Frankenstein 's Wedding -- review ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Announcing FRANKENSTEIN, a new interactive literary app for iPad and iPhone ''. Profile Books. Retrieved 6 December 2015. Jump up ^ Hello Igor... Daniel Radcliffe gets into character on the set of the brand new Frankenstein movie, The Daily Mail Jump up ^ `` Frankenstein 4 -- 27 May 2016. Main Stage. The world premiere of Liam Scarlett 's new full - length ballet, inspired by Mary Shelley 's Gothic masterpiece ''. roh.org.uk. Royal Opera House. Retrieved 24 May 2016. Jump up ^ Slavin, Rose ( 11 May 2016 ). `` Frankenstein to be relayed live to BP Big Screens in the UK and cinemas around the world on 18 May 2016 ''. Royal Opera House. Retrieved 19 September 2016. Jump up ^ Universal Pictures ( 22 May 2017 ). `` Universal Pictures Unveils `` Dark Universe '' With Name, Mark and Musical Theme for its Classic Monsters Series of Films ``. PR Newswire. Jump up ^ Fleming Jr., Mike ( 5 October 2017 ). `` ' Bride Of Frankenstein ' Back To Lab As London Pre-Production Postponed ; Javier Bardem & Angelina Jolie Expected To Wait ''. Deadline Hollywood. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Laughs ''. American Film Institute. Retrieved 21 November 2010. Jump up ^ LaFarge, Antoinette, and Annie Loui. `` Excerpts from Reading Frankenstein : Mary Shelley as 21st Century Artificial Life Scientist ''. Ada : A Journal of Gender, New Media & Technology, Fall 2013. Jump up ^ `` Communiqués officiels des jeux vidéo ''. AFJV. Jump up ^ `` A Nightmare On Lime Street -- Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool ''. Jump up ^ Pedersen, Erik ( 2 March 2015 ). `` Rob Kazinsky Is Fox 's ' Frankenstein ' Monster ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 30 March 2017. References Aldiss, Brian W. `` On the Origin of Species : Mary Shelley ''. Speculations on Speculation : Theories of Science Fiction. Eds. James Gunn and Matthew Candelaria. Lanham, Maryland : Scarecrow, 2005. Baldick, Chris. In Frankenstein 's Shadow : Myth, Monstrosity, and Nineteenth - Century Writing. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1987. Bann, Stephen, ed. `` Frankenstein '' : Creation and Monstrosity. London : Reaktion, 1994. Behrendt, Stephen C., ed. Approaches to Teaching Shelley 's `` Frankenstein ''. New York : MLA, 1990. Bennett, Betty T. and Stuart Curran, eds. Mary Shelley in Her Times. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. Bennett, Betty T. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley : An Introduction. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN 0 - 8018 - 5976 - X. Bohls, Elizabeth A. `` Standards of Taste, Discourses of ' Race ', and the Aesthetic Education of a Monster : Critique of Empire in Frankenstein ''. Eighteenth - Century Life 18.3 ( 1994 ) : 23 -- 36. Botting, Fred. Making Monstrous : `` Frankenstein '', Criticism, Theory. New York : St. Martin 's, 1991. Chapman, D. That Not Impossible She : A study of gender construction and Individualism in Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein, UK : Concept, 2011. ISBN 978 - 1480047617 Clery, E.J. Women 's Gothic : From Clara Reeve to Mary Shelley. Plymouth : Northcote House, 2000. Conger, Syndy M., Frederick S. Frank, and Gregory O'Dea, eds. Iconoclastic Departures : Mary Shelley after `` Frankenstein '' : Essays in Honor of the Bicentenary of Mary Shelley 's Birth. Madison, New Jersey : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1997. Donawerth, Jane. Frankenstein 's Daughters : Women Writing Science Fiction. Syracuse : Syracuse University Press, 1997. Douthwaite, Julia V. `` The Frankenstein of the French Revolution, '' chapter two of The Frankenstein of 1790 and other Lost Chapters from Revolutionary France. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2012. Dunn, Richard J. `` Narrative Distance in Frankenstein ''. Studies in the Novel 6 ( 1974 ) : 408 -- 17. Eberle - Sinatra, Michael, ed. Mary Shelley 's Fictions : From `` Frankenstein '' to `` Falkner ''. New York : St. Martin 's Press, 2000. Ellis, Kate Ferguson. The Contested Castle : Gothic Novels and the Subversion of Domestic Ideology. Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 1989. Florescu, Radu ( 1996 ). In Search of Frankenstein : Exploring the Myths Behind Mary Shelley 's Monster ( 2nd ed. ). London : Robson Books. ISBN 978 - 1 - 861 - 05033 - 5. Forry, Steven Earl. Hideous Progenies : Dramatizations of `` Frankenstein '' from Mary Shelley to the Present. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990. Freedman, Carl. `` Hail Mary : On the Author of Frankenstein and the Origins of Science Fiction ''. Science Fiction Studies 29.2 ( 2002 ) : 253 -- 64. Gigante, Denise. `` Facing the Ugly : The Case of Frankenstein ''. ELH 67.2 ( 2000 ) : 565 -- 87. Gilbert, Sandra and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic : The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth - Century Literary Imagination. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1979. Hay, Daisy `` Young Romantics '' ( 2010 ) : 103. Heffernan, James A.W. `` Looking at the Monster : Frankenstein and Film ''. Critical Inquiry 24.1 ( 1997 ) : 133 -- 58. Hodges, Devon. `` Frankenstein and the Feminine Subversion of the Novel ''. Tulsa Studies in Women 's Literature 2.2 ( 1983 ) : 155 -- 64. Hoeveler, Diane Long. Gothic Feminism : The Professionalization of Gender from Charlotte Smith to the Brontës. University Park : Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998. Holmes, Richard. Shelley : The Pursuit. 1974. London : Harper Perennial, 2003. ISBN 0 - 00 - 720458 - 2. Jones, Frederick L. ( 1952 ). `` Shelley and Milton ''. Studies in Philology. 49 ( 3 ) : 488 -- 519. JSTOR 4173024. Knoepflmacher, U.C. and George Levine, eds. The Endurance of `` Frankenstein '' : Essays on Mary Shelley 's Novel. Berkeley : University of California Press, 1979. Lew, Joseph W. `` The Deceptive Other : Mary Shelley 's Critique of Orientalism in Frankenstein ''. Studies in Romanticism 30.2 ( 1991 ) : 255 -- 83. Lauritsen, John. `` The Man Who Wrote Frankenstein ''. Pagan Press, 2007. London, Bette. `` Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, and the Spectacle of Masculinity ''. PMLA 108.2 ( 1993 ) : 256 -- 67. Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley : Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters. New York : Methuen, 1988. Michaud, Nicolas, Frankenstein and Philosophy : The Shocking Truth, Chicago : Open Court, 2013. Miles, Robert. Gothic Writing 1750 -- 1820 : A Genealogy. London : Routledge, 1993. Milner, Andrew. Literature, Culture and Society. London : Routledge, 2005, ch. 5. O'Flinn, Paul. `` Production and Reproduction : The Case of Frankenstein ''. Literature and History 9.2 ( 1983 ) : 194 -- 213. Poovey, Mary. The Proper Lady and the Woman Writer : Ideology as Style in the Works of Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, and Jane Austen. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1984. Rauch, Alan. `` The Monstrous Body of Knowledge in Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein ''. Studies in Romanticism 34.2 ( 1995 ) : 227 -- 53. Selbanev, Xtopher. `` Natural Philosophy of the Soul '', Western Press, 1999. Schor, Esther, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Mary Shelley. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2003. Scott, Grant F. ( 1934 ). `` Victor 's Secret : Queer Gothic in Lynd Ward 's Illustrations to Frankenstein ''. Word & Image - 28 ( April -- June 2012 ). pp. 206 -- 232. Smith, Johanna M., ed. Frankenstein. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Boston : Bedford / St. Martin 's, 1992. Spark, Muriel. Mary Shelley. London : Cardinal, 1987. ISBN 0 - 7474 - 0318 - X. Stableford, Brian. `` Frankenstein and the Origins of Science Fiction ''. Anticipations : Essays on Early Science Fiction and Its Precursors. Ed. David Seed. Syracuse : Syracuse University Press, 1995. Sunstein, Emily W. Mary Shelley : Romance and Reality. 1989. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991. ISBN 0 - 8018 - 4218 - 2. Tropp, Martin. Mary Shelley 's Monster. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1976. Veeder, William. Mary Shelley & Frankenstein : The Fate of Androgyny. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1986. Williams, Anne. The Art of Darkness : A Poetics of Gothic. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1995. Further reading Richard Holmes, `` Out of Control '' ( review of Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus : Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds, edited by David H. Guston, Ed Finn, and Jason Scott Robert, MIT Press, 277 pp. ; and Mary Shelley, The New Annotated Frankenstein, edited and with a foreword and notes by Leslie S. Klinger, Liveright, 352 pp. ), The New York Review of Books, vol. LXIV, no. 20 ( 21 December 2017 ), pp. 38, 40 -- 41. Editions 1818 text Shelley, Mary Frankenstein : 1818 text ( Oxford University Press, 2009 ). Edited with an introduction and notes by Marilyn Butler. 1832 text Fairclough, Peter ( ed. ) Three Gothic Novels : Walpole / Castle of Otranto, Beckford / Vathek, Mary Shelley / Frankenstein ( Penguin English Library, 1968 ). With an introductory essay by Mario Praz. Shelley, Mary Frankenstein ( Oxford University Press, 2008 ). Edited with an introduction and notes by M.K. Joseph. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frankenstein. Wikiquote has quotations related to : Frankenstein Wikisource has original text related to this article : Frankenstein Frankenstein at Project Gutenberg Frankenstein 1818 edition at Project Gutenberg Frankenstein public domain audiobook at LibriVox Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Chronology and Resource Site `` On Frankenstein '', review by Percy Bysshe Shelley `` 13 Ways of Looking at Frankenstein '', slideshow by Life `` My Hideous Progeny : Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein '' Frankenstein : a new reality ! Inside look at the `` Frankenstein Phenomenon '' Inside look at the `` Read original Frankenstein by Mary Shelley '' Crash Course Literature - Frankenstein ( 1 ) ( 2 ) Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein Characters Frankenstein 's monster Victor Frankenstein Bride of Frankenstein Doctor Waldman Elizabeth Lavenza Films ( expands on the right ) Film characters Igor Doctor Septimus Pretorius Wolf Frankenstein Universal series Frankenstein ( 1931 ) Bride of Frankenstein ( 1935 ) Son of Frankenstein ( 1939 ) The Ghost of Frankenstein ( 1942 ) Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man ( 1943 ) House of Frankenstein ( 1944 ) House of Dracula ( 1945 ) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ( 1948 ) Hammer series The Curse of Frankenstein ( 1957 ) The Revenge of Frankenstein ( 1958 ) The Evil of Frankenstein ( 1964 ) Frankenstein Created Woman ( 1967 ) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed ( 1969 ) The Horror of Frankenstein ( 1970 ) Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell ( 1974 ) Toho series Frankenstein Conquers the World ( 1965 ) The War of the Gargantuas ( 1966 ) Parodies Mad Monster Party ? ( 1967 ) Mad Mad Mad Monsters ( 1972 ) Young Frankenstein ( 1974 ) Frankenstein - Italian Style ( 1975 ) Frankenweenie ( 1984 ) Transylvania 6 - 5000 ( 1985 ) The Monster Squad ( 1987 ) Frankenhooker ( 1990 ) Monster Mash ( 1995 ) Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein ( 1999 ) Monster Mash ( 2000 ) Frankenthumb ( 2002 ) Hotel Transylvania ( 2012 ) Frankenweenie ( 2012 ) Hotel Transylvania 2 ( 2015 ) Others Frankenstein ( 1910 ) Life Without Soul ( 1915 ) The Monster of Frankenstein ( 1920 ) I Was a Teenage Frankenstein ( 1957 ) Frankenstein 1970 ( 1958 ) Frankenstein 's Daughter ( 1958 ) Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster ( 1965 ) Jesse James Meets Frankenstein 's Daughter ( 1966 ) Los Monstruos del Terror ( 1970 ) Lady Frankenstein ( 1971 ) Dracula vs. Frankenstein ( 1971 ) Frankenstein ' 80 ( 1972 ) Andy Warhol 's Frankenstein ( 1973 ) Blackenstein ( 1973 ) Frankenstein 's Castle of Freaks ( 1974 ) Frankenstein Legend of Terror ( 1981 ) Frankenstein Island ( 1981 ) The Bride ( 1985 ) Frankenstein Unbound ( 1990 ) Frankenstein ( 1992 ) Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein ( 1994 ) Van Helsing ( 2004 ) Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove ( 2005 ) Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl ( 2009 ) House of the Wolf Man ( 2009 ) Frankenstein : Day of the Beast ( 2011 ) Frankenstein 's Army ( 2013 ) The Frankenstein Theory ( 2013 ) I, Frankenstein ( 2014 ) Army of Frankensteins ( 2014 ) Frankenstein ( 2015 ) Victor Frankenstein ( 2015 ) Television Tales of Frankenstein ( 1958 ) Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles ( 1966 -- 1968 ) Groovie Goolies ( 1970 ) Frankenstein : The True Story ( 1973 ) Struck by Lightning ( 1979 ) House of Frankenstein ( 1997 ) Frankenstein ( 2004, TV film ) Frankenstein ( 2004, miniseries ) Frankenstein ( 2007 ) Mary Shelley 's Frankenhole ( 2010 ) Once Upon a Time `` The Doctor '' ( 2012 ) `` In the Name of the Brother '' ( 2013 ) Penny Dreadful ( 2014 -- 2016 ) The Frankenstein Chronicles ( 2015 ) Second Chance ( 2016 ) Stage Presumption ; or, the Fate of Frankenstein ( 1823 ) Frankenstein, or The Vampire 's Victim ( 1887 ) Joined At The Heart ( 2007 ) Frankenstein -- A New Musical ( 2007 ) Young Frankenstein ( 2007 ) Frankenstein ( 2011 play ) Frankenstein 's Wedding ( 2011 play ) Novels Frankenstein 's Aunt ( 1978 ) Frankenstein 's Aunt Returns ( 1989 ) Frankenstein 's Cat ( 2001 ) Dean Koontz 's Frankenstein Prodigal Son ( 2005 ) City of Night ( 2005 ) Dead and Alive ( 2009 ) Lost Souls ( 2010 ) Comics Bernie Wrightson 's Frankenstein Frankenstein ( DC Comics ) Frankenstein ( Dell Comics ) Doc Frankenstein Embalming Frankenstein 's Monster ( Marvel Comics ) Frankenstein ( Prize Comics ) Young Frankenstein Video games Frankenstein Frankenstein : The Monster Returns Dr. Franken Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein Frankenstein : Through the Eyes of the Monster Van Helsing Related Frankenstein in popular culture Frankenstein Castle Johann Conrad Dippel Frankenstrat ( guitar ) `` Frankenstein '' ( 1973 single ) Frankenstein ( Death Race ) Frankenstein, MD ( 2014 ) Mary Shelley Works History of a Six Weeks ' Tour Frankenstein Mathilda Proserpine Midas Valperga `` Maurice '' The Last Man The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck `` The Mortal Immortal '' Lodore Falkner Rambles in Germany and Italy Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men Family Percy Bysshe Shelley ( husband ) Percy Florence Shelley ( son ) Mary Wollstonecraft ( mother ) William Godwin ( father ) Fanny Imlay ( half - sister ) Claire Clairmont ( stepsister ) Related Mounseer Nongtongpaw Frankenstein in popular culture Rowing with the Wind ( 1988 film ) Lord Byron John Polidori Thomas Jefferson Hogg Organ transplantation in fiction Novels and short stories Frankenstein ( 1818 ) Les Mains d'Orlac ( 1920 ) A Gift from Earth ( 1968 ) Coma ( 1977 ) Pegasus in Flight ( 1990 ) Flatlander ( 1995 ) My Sister 's Keeper ( 2004 ) Never Let Me Go ( 2005 ) Unwind ( 2007 ) Films The Hands of Orlac ( 1924 ) Frankenstein ( 1931 ) Mad Love ( 1935 ) The Hands of Orlac ( 1960 ) Hands of a Stranger ( 1962 ) Night of the Bloody Apes ( 1969 ) The Amazing Transplant ( 1970 ) Percy ( 1971 ) The Incredible 2 - Headed Transplant ( 1971 ) The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler ( 1971 ) The Thing with Two Heads ( 1972 ) Mansion of the Doomed ( 1976 ) Coma ( 1978 ) Parts : The Clonus Horror ( 1979 ) Fleisch ( 1979 ) The Man with Two Brains ( 1983 ) Body Parts ( 1991 ) Body Bags ( 1993 ) The Eye ( 2002 ) Dirty Pretty Things ( 2002 ) 21 Grams ( 2003 ) The Island ( 2005 ) Turistas ( 2006 ) Awake ( 2007 ) Seven Pounds ( 2008 ) Repo ! The Genetic Opera ( 2008 ) My Sister 's Keeper ( 2009 ) Never Let Me Go ( 2010 ) Repo Men ( 2010 ) The Harvest ( 2013 ) Pound of Flesh ( 2015 ) Television `` Spock 's Brain '' ( 1968 ) The Brain of Morbius ( 1976 ) `` Appointment on Route 17 '' ( 1988 ) `` Phage '' ( Vidiians ) ( 1995 ) Three Rivers ( 2009 - 2010 ) Coma ( 2012 ) iZombie ( 2015 ) Music `` Gary Gilmore 's Eyes '' ( 1977 ) Concepts Organ trade Organlegging Brain transplantation Body horror VIAF : 185508590 LCCN : n84007242 GND : 4220200 - 0 SUDOC : 027515354 BNF : cb11953887q ( data ) NLA : 35303735 BNE : XX2187643 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frankenstein&oldid=815670583 '' Categories : Frankenstein British science fiction novels British novels adapted into films Gothic novels British horror novels Epistolary novels Romanticism Novels set in the Arctic Novels set in Germany Novels set in Switzerland Novels by Mary Shelley Works published anonymously Debut novels Novels about revenge Frame stories 1818 British novels Novels adapted into comics British novels adapted into plays Novels adapted into radio programs Novels adapted into television programs Novels adapted into video games 1810s science fiction novels 1810s fantasy novels Science fiction horror novels Human and non-human experimentation in fiction Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Wikipedia indefinitely move - protected pages EngvarB from September 2013 Use dmy dates from September 2013 All articles with failed verification Articles with failed verification from June 2017 Articles needing additional references from June 2017 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017 Articles with Project Gutenberg links Articles with LibriVox links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Wikisource Azərbaycanca বাংলা Български Bosanski Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית ಕನ್ನಡ Кыргызча Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar മലയാളം Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Română Русский Scots Sicilianu Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Winaray 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 16 December 2017, at 08 : 38. 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Question: to whom does the narrator write in frankenstein
Answer: his sister