Frankenstein
*Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus* is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821.
Themes & atmosphere
Also by Mary Shelley
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What you might want to know about Frankenstein
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A young Genevese scientist obsessed with the spark of life builds a being from dead tissue and brings it to life. Horrified by what he has done, he runs. The creature follows him for the rest of his life.
Yes. Frankenstein was first published in 1818 and is in the public domain. Free editions are available legally through Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, and similar archives.
Yes, partly. The 1816 ghost-story competition at Lord Byron's Villa Diodati produced both the seed of Frankenstein and Polidori's The Vampyre. Mary Shelley was 18 when she began the novel and 20 when it was first published anonymously.
Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley, published in 1818 by Pocket Books.
Frankenstein is 240 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Frankenstein takes most readers 4 to 5 hours to finish.
Frankenstein is a standalone novel by Mary Shelley, not part of a series.
Frankenstein is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.