Mary Shelley

The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck tell the life story of Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English throne, who claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "princes in the tower". After the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, with the aid of John de la Poole, Richard, Duke of York hides with Mynheer Jahn Warbeck, a Flemish moneylender who had previously housed him and pretended that Richard was his deceased son, Perkin Warbeck. Under the alias of Perkin, Richard starts paving his way to English throne.

"Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a grotesque, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. 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. It has had a considerable influence in literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories, films and plays. "The Last Man" is a post-apocalyptic novel which tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. Lionel Verney or The Last Man is the orphan son of an impoverished nobleman. Lionel is originally lawless, self-willed, and resentful of the nobility for casting aside his father. When he is befriended by Adrian, son of the last King of England, he embraces civilization and particularly scholarship.

The Last Man is a post-apocalyptic novel which tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. Lionel Verney or The Last Man is the orphan son of an impoverished nobleman. Lionel is originally lawless, self-willed, and resentful of the nobility for casting aside his father. When he is befriended by Adrian, son of the last King of England, he embraces civilization and particularly scholarship.

"Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a grotesque, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. 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. It has had a considerable influence in literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories, films and plays. "St. Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian" is a Gothic horror novel which retells the destiny of Wolfstein, a solitary wanderer and a disillusioned outcast from society who seeks to kill himself. After he is saved by the monks, he encounters Ginotti, an alchemist of the Rosicrucian, or Rose Cross Order who seeks to impart the secret of immortality.

This is a gothic science-fiction story, written in 1818, by Mary Shelley when she was only 18 Years old. The novel portrays a crazy scientist Victor Frankenstein that takes on the role of God by creating a new life from the dead that turns into a monster. Did Victor Frankenstein fail as an inventor? Did the society's rejection and isolation turned the creation into a monster?

Victor Frankenstein is consumed by his desire to discover the secrets of life. After several years of research, Victor feverishly constructs a man out of old body parts and brings him to life. Victor is immediately horrified by his ambitious creation, and flees his apartment in remorse. The newborn monster disappears from Frankenstein's laboratory and enters the world as an outcast, struggling with his own identity. What follows is a gripping tale of murder, injustice, and revenge. Since 1818 Frankenstein has been associated with scientists who are consumed with their experiments, and oblivious to the repercussions. Among them are the brains behind the nuclear arms race, scientists who create super bacteria, and laboratories that experiment with artificial black holes. But most notably is the area of science devoted to gene manipulation, both in genetically modified foods and human cloning. Frankenstein has much to teach us in a world where we constantly test the limits of science and human ambition.

Victor Frankenstein, a gifted medical student, has discovered the secret of bringing dead matter to life. Gathering materials from graveyards and slaughterhouses, he creates a giant of superhuman strength. But he is horrified by what he has done, and runs away. How will the creature react to being left alone in the world by his creator? This classic horror story is presented as an exciting, fast-paced graphic novel which remains faithful to Mary Shelley’s original text. Specially commissioned full-colour artwork brings excitement and atmosphere to this classic tale. Speech bubbles work with the main text to emphasise and enhance the retelling.

The Last Man is an apocalyptic, dystopian science fiction about a future Earth at the time of the late twenty-first century, ravaged by an unknown pandemic which quickly sweeps across the world. It also includes a discussion of English culture as a republic, with Mary Shelley sitting in meetings of the House of Commons to gain an insight into the governmental political system of the romantic era. Within the novel, she dedicates it highly to her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley who drowned in a shipwreck four years before the book's publication. It is also dedicated to her dear friend Lord Byron who adored the Greek isles which were eventually his place of death. The Last Man was severely suppressed at the time. It was not until the 1960s that the novel resurfaced for the public as a work of fiction, not prophesy. The Last Man is the first piece of dystopian fiction published, yet it is debated among literary critics whether The Last Man can be classed as a dystopian novel as it excludes political themes of repression and totalitarianism of the novels of later periods such as Orwell's 1984 or Huxley's Brave New World.

The Last Man is an apocalyptic, dystopian science fiction about a future Earth at the time of the late twenty-first century, ravaged by an unknown pandemic which quickly sweeps across the world. It also includes a discussion of English culture as a republic, with Mary Shelley sitting in meetings of the House of Commons to gain an insight into the governmental political system of the romantic era. Within the novel, she dedicates it highly to her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley who drowned in a shipwreck four years before the book's publication. It is also dedicated to her dear friend Lord Byron who adored the Greek isles which were eventually his place of death. The Last Man was severely suppressed at the time. It was not until the 1960s that the novel resurfaced for the public as a work of fiction, not prophesy. The Last Man is the first piece of dystopian fiction published, yet it is debated among literary critics whether The Last Man can be classed as a dystopian novel as it excludes political themes of repression and totalitarianism of the novels of later periods such as Orwell's 1984 or Huxley's Brave New World.

The Last Man is an apocalyptic, dystopian science fiction about a future Earth at the time of the late twenty-first century, ravaged by an unknown pandemic which quickly sweeps across the world. It also includes a discussion of English culture as a republic, with Mary Shelley sitting in meetings of the House of Commons to gain an insight into the governmental political system of the romantic era. Within the novel, she dedicates it highly to her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley who drowned in a shipwreck four years before the book's publication. It is also dedicated to her dear friend Lord Byron who adored the Greek isles which were eventually his place of death. The Last Man was severely suppressed at the time. It was not until the 1960s that the novel resurfaced for the public as a work of fiction, not prophesy. The Last Man is the first piece of dystopian fiction published, yet it is debated among literary critics whether The Last Man can be classed as a dystopian novel as it excludes political themes of repression and totalitarianism of the novels of later periods such as Orwell's 1984 or Huxley's Brave New World.

An absolutely gripping novel, "Frankenstein" continues to be read-and assigned-at a prodigious rate. But the simple truth is that for many modern readers, the original is difficult to get through-when it is possible to get through at all. This adaptation, which makes use of as much of Mary Shelley's original language as possible, takes a frustrating, agonizing reading experience and turns it into the page-turning thriller that Shelley clearly intended. Whether the person reading it is in high school or college, or merely always wanted to read the novel but tried without success somewhere along the way and gave up, this is an adaptation that successfully makes one of the most important books ever written in English into one that is also accessible. Not only that, it turns it into the thought-provoking, gripping, and spine-tingling experience that the extraordinary genius that Shelley was produced at the age of 20, against all odds. The book offers a trip through the Arctic, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and back again, at a time when the author's thoughts on the hazards of science without conscience are as apropos as they were 200 years ago when she set them down.

A riveting novel written 200 years ago, "Frankenstein" continues to be widely assigned by English teachers around the globe. But the simple truth is that for many modern readers, for many reasons, the original is excruciatingly difficult to get through-when it is possible to get through at all. This adaptation, which makes use of as much of Mary Shelley's original language as possible, takes a frustrating, agonizing reading experience and turns it into the page-turning thriller that Shelley clearly intended. Whether the person reading it is in high school or college, or merely always wanted to read the novel but tried without success somewhere along the way and gave up, this is an adaptation that successfully makes one of the most important books ever written in English into one that is also accessible. Not only that, it turns it into the thought-provoking, gripping, and spine-tingling experience that the extraordinary genius that Shelley was produced at the age of 20, against all odds. The book offers a trip through the Arctic, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and back again, at a time when the author's thoughts on the hazards of science without conscience are as apropos as they were 200 years ago when she set them down.

"In this new edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, David Wootton's Introduction gives the reader both a clear and gripping account of the biographical circumstances that led to the novel’s writing and the most striking and original interpretations of its central themes and of the intellectual and cultural influences on them. Offering a new account of the complex history of its composition, and drawing upon his deep knowledge of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scientific debates, Wootton reveals the ways in which the origins of Shelley’s novel are inextricably linked to conceptions of the origins of life itself. We have here a transformative reading of one of the world’s best-known stories."—Laura Marcus, Goldsmiths’ Professor of English Literature and Fellow of New College, University of Oxford

"In this new edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, David Wootton's Introduction gives the reader both a clear and gripping account of the biographical circumstances that led to the novel’s writing and the most striking and original interpretations of its central themes and of the intellectual and cultural influences on them. Offering a new account of the complex history of its composition, and drawing upon his deep knowledge of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scientific debates, Wootton reveals the ways in which the origins of Shelley’s novel are inextricably linked to conceptions of the origins of life itself. We have here a transformative reading of one of the world’s best-known stories."—Laura Marcus, Goldsmiths’ Professor of English Literature and Fellow of New College, University of Oxford

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley (1797-1851) that 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 published in Paris in 1821. Shelley travelled through Europe in 1815 along the river Rhine in Germany stopping in Gernsheim, 17 kilometres (11 mi) away from Frankenstein Castle, where two centuries before, an alchemist engaged in experiments. She then journeyed to the region of Geneva, Switzerland, where much of the story takes place. The topics of galvanism and occult ideas were themes of conversation among her companions, particularly her lover and future husband Percy B. Shelley. In 1816, Mary, Percy and Lord Byron had 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, inspiring the novel. Though Frankenstein is infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement, Brian Aldiss has argued that it should be considered the first true science fiction story. In contrast to previous stories with fantastical elements resembling those of later science fiction, Aldiss states 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 publication of the novel, the name "Frankenstein" has often been used to refer to the monster itself. (wikipedia.org)

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley (1797-1851) that 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 published in Paris in 1821. Shelley travelled through Europe in 1815 along the river Rhine in Germany stopping in Gernsheim, 17 kilometres (11 mi) away from Frankenstein Castle, where two centuries before, an alchemist engaged in experiments. She then journeyed to the region of Geneva, Switzerland, where much of the story takes place. The topics of galvanism and occult ideas were themes of conversation among her companions, particularly her lover and future husband Percy B. Shelley. In 1816, Mary, Percy and Lord Byron had 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, inspiring the novel. Though Frankenstein is infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement, Brian Aldiss has argued that it should be considered the first true science fiction story. In contrast to previous stories with fantastical elements resembling those of later science fiction, Aldiss states 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 publication of the novel, the name "Frankenstein" has often been used to refer to the monster itself. (wikipedia.org)

Discover our collectable Puffin Clothbound Classic edition of FrankensteinPuffin Clothbound Classics are stunning collectable gift editions of some of the best-loved classics in the world - including this striking edition of Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein has made a terrible mistake. In his desperate pursuit to create life, he has created a monster. A monster which, abandoned by his master and shunned by everyone it meets, follows Dr Frankenstein to the very ends of the earth with horror and murder in its recycled heart. Mary Shelley takes the reader on a journey through St Petersburg, to the beautiful Swiss Alps, to the desolate waste of the Arctic Circle, in a story that has sent a chill down the spines of generations.'A masterpiece' - Philip PullmanCollect our Puffin Clothbound Classics: 9780241444313 The Little Prince 9780241663554 The Jungle Book 9780241568811 Charlotte's Web 9780241688243 Little Women 9780241688250 Peter Pan 9780241688267 The Railway Children 9780241688236 Chinese Cinderella 9780241411216 Treasure Island 9780241411209 The Wizard of Oz 9780241655702 Watership Down 9780241663578 The Worst Witch 9780241663547 David Copperfield 9780241663561 The Neverending Story 9780241623909 Stig of the Dump 9780241623916 The Dark is Rising 9780241411162 The Secret Garden 9780241411148 Black Beauty 9780241411155 Dracula 9780241425121 Frankenstein 9780241425138 Wuthering Heights 9780241425114 Tales from Shakespeare 9780241425107 Tales of the Greek Heroes 9780241411193 A Christmas Carol 9780241621196 Grimms' Fairy Tales 9780241425145 Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales