num_pages: 247
description: Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is part of the Barnes &amp; Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes &amp; Noble Classics:   New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars   Biographies of the authors   Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events   Footnotes and endnotes   Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work   Comments by other famous authors   Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations   Bibliographies for further reading   Indices &amp; Glossaries, when appropriate  All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes &amp; Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering "the cause of generation and life" and "bestowing animation upon lifeless matter," Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature?s hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises rofound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever. Karen Karbiener received a Ph.D. from Columbia University and currently teaches literature at New York University.
language: English
title: Frankenstein
titlecomplete: Frankenstein
characters: Alphonse Frankenstein, Ernest Frankenstein, Safie, Henry Clerval, Felix, Robert Walton, Caroline Beaufort Frankenstein, The Monster (Frankenstein), Justine Moritz, Elizabeth Lavenza, Agatha, William Frankenstein, De Lacey, Victor Frankenstein
genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Gothic, Horror, School, Literature, Read For School, Classics, Novels, Fantasy
ratings_count: 1519137
places: Ingolstadt, Switzerland, Arctic Circle, Germany, Geneva
publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics