Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus Penguin Classics: Amazon.co.uk: Shelley: Books

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Bernard Hirsch, University of Kansas
"...superb.... The introduction and appendices are particularly valuable ... accessible and illuminating." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Craig Keating, Langara College
"far better than any [other edition] on the market today" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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62 Reviews

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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Forget your preconceptions and read a classic., 12 Jan 2005

By	Ian Tapley "thefragrantwookiee" - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Frankenstein (Wordsworth Classics): Or, the Modern Prometheus (Paperback)

THE STORY:
An intelligent and promising young student indulges a moment of thoughtless scientific passion and creates life. Horrified at himself, Victor Frankenstein shuns the creature and attempts to continue his life without thinking about it. The creature, however, is lost in an unkind world and he never stops thinking about Frankenstein.

WHAT'S GOOD:
Forget square-heads and green make-up, forget that dreadful modern remake with Kenneth Branagh and Robert DeNiro sit down and read one of the most remarkable science fiction stories ever written. It is basically about two men, Frankenstein and 'the wretch', who are so consumed by passion and pride that they are drawn ever further from the redemption that at times is tantalisingly close. These two men are all too easy to empathise with; Victor being a scientific genius but also scared witless by the horror he feels he has unleashed upon mankind and 'the wretch' (I can't honestly call him monster) who wants only to be loved but is so pained by his loneliness that he lashes out at others. Perhaps my favourite element of the book is the fact that the wretch reads 'Paradise Lost' and, having no concept of fiction, takes it all as complete truth, subtley warping his perception of reality.

WHAT'S BAD:
As with a lot of 19th century literature, this book can be ponderous at times, seeming to deliberately avoid getting on with the story. Also, like a lot of 19th century literature, this book is incredibly depressing. By the time you've read it, you'll be in no doubt that you've read a masterpiece, but you'll also be as miserable as sin.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evocative creation of a mood of bleak despair, 18 Feb 2007

By	John Hopper (London, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Frankenstein (Wordsworth Classics): Or, the Modern Prometheus (Paperback)

This is primarily a novel that sets out to create an atmosphere of fear, horror and despair and succeeds admirably in so doing. Mary Shelley must have had an appalling dream but she brought it to life in wonderful, evocative language and at such a young age (only 19 when she wrote the book). The monster is so different from the monster of the films. Here he is no lumbering, stupid brute, but an agile, resourceful and calculating creature who can and does conduct a deep and thoughtful dialogue with his creator when explaining his background story. But at the same time the monster carries out horrible murders of Frankenstein's nearest and dearest and these deaths are shocking when they happen. The science is almost non-existent and we never find out how Frankenstein creates the monster nor indeed what the monster really looks like other than being repulsively hideous. But that is not the purpose of the book, which is to set a mood and raise philosophical questions about the purpose of scientific discovery. And Mary Shelley does this brilliantly.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The author at once of my existence and of its unspeakable torments", 5 Mar 2008

By	Nicholas Casley (Plymouth, Devon, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Frankenstein: or `The Modern Prometheus': The 1818 Text: Or "The Modern Prometheus" - The 1818 Text (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This is a review of the Oxford World's Classics edition, edited and introduced by Marilyn Butler of Exeter College, Oxford. She explains in her note on the text why the 1818 version is preferred - "it delivers an original, specific and profound fable about the modern world in conditions of social change" - rather than the usual published text of the amended 1831 edition. I agree that the original edition has a raw edge, a directness, and a refusal to concede to societal norms that is not so prominent in the later massaged text.

I came to the novel with an open mind, but with an appreciation that Hollywood had cemented the story as a classic of gothic horror. And yet the monsters tale of his `adventures' with the de Lacey family, for example, seemed worlds away from the `traditional' tale as told by American cinema. (Hence, presumably, Kenneth Branagh's 1994 adaptation bearing the conscious title "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein".)

The novel is very well-written and conceived. It is interesting for its literary-historical and scientific context, but of far more interest to me are the philosophical issues that it (unconsciously?) raises. It is geographically incoherent in places, as is the plot, but plot is not really the reason for this novel, is it?

The actual physical creation of the monster is, surprisingly, sparsely described, covering barely two paragraphs, and even then only a vague illustration is given. Throughout the novel, there are only indistinct allusions to his form. Captain Walton, for example, merely says that he was "gigantic in stature, yet uncouth and distorted in his proportions. ... his face was concealed by long locks of ragged hair; but one vast hand was extended, in colour and apparent texture like that of a mummy".

Frankenstein's rejection of his creation so soon after having given life to it - indeed, at the very point of giving life to it - after so determined and intense a devotion to the cause, seems to me to mirror the immense shame and repugnance that civilisation can inculcate at the moment of sexual orgasm in `inappropriate circumstances'. Or, given the gender of the book's author, perhaps a more relevant analogy would be giving birth to a child conceived in shameful circumstances. His rejection of his act is absolute and unyielding. He does not return to his studies to rectify his mistakes in the creation of another, or seek to modify the result that he has created. Instead, he turns his back and falls into a great depression.

Meanwhile the monster plays the part of an extraterrestrial. Initially completely alien to his surroundings, Mary Shelley uses this position to allow him to comment as an outsider on the nature of humanity. The monster says how the de Lacey cottage was "the school in which I studied human nature." Thus, he who was the experiment has now become the experimenter. "Perhaps [he remarks], if my first introduction to humanity had been made by a young soldier, burning for glory and slaughter, I should have been imbued with different sensations", than those provided by the de Laceys and their humanistic literature.

On one level the story is akin to `Beauty and the Beast', `Cyrano de Bergerac', the `Elephant Man', or `E.T.'. But why did not Frankenstein simply learn to accept his creation? He is the creator, he is the monster's god. Is this a metaphor on man's place in God's creation? (At one point, he compares his situation explicitly with Adam.) Is this a comment on the Christian religion, when the monster describes Frankenstein as "the author at once of my existence and of its unspeakable torments" in a time of upheaval and speculation in post-Enlightenment but pre-Darwinian educated circles, when deism was becoming a reputable opinion? The monster again: "The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil."

Marilyn Butler's 42-page introduction, is of the usual high standard that one comes to expect from this publisher. She details Mary Shelley's beginnings, her family and her relationship with her husband. She goes on to describe their relationship with the radical science of the period in which they lived. She explains the ghost-story competition context from which the novel arose. There then follows a critique of the novel itself.
There are three appendices to this Oxford World's Classics edition. The first is Mary Shelley's preface to the amended 1831 edition, where she gives details about the inspiration for the tale and the story behind its creation. The second details the changes made to the text, or rather denotes the additions thereto but not (for some reason) the omissions. ... lists these changes and the reasons for them. The third and final appendix is an extract from an 1820 edition of the Quarterly Review, a nineteenth-century Tory version of the London Review of Books. The extract is not a review of Mary Shelley's `Frankenstein', but is principally concerned with the lectures of William Lawrence FRS and whether the life-force and greater mental capacities of humans (compared to other animals) is inherited or `super-added'. It is these extras - and the use of the 1818 text - that make this edition superior to others.

As with all reprints of classic works of literature, I recommend that the so-called introduction (which is really more of a commentary) is best read after the novel.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Horror at its best
I was told to read this book for my english GCSE and I began to read it one night before I went to bed one night. Read more

Published 25 days ago by Ms. M. Cooper

5.0 out of 5 stars A Horror Fan Must Read
This is a novel that the horror fan should definitely read. Not quite on a par with Dracula this is still a well written gothic novel by Shelley. Read more

Published 3 months ago by I. M. Knight

5.0 out of 5 stars Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
This is a good way to buy this book when studying English Language and Literature at University, as I am doing at the moment. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Mrs. S. Ashton

3.0 out of 5 stars This is the 1831 edition
Some of the other reviewers state that this is the 1818 edition. It is not. It is the 1831 edition, which is fantastic if that's what you're looking for. Read more

Published 4 months ago by S. J. Hollis

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful novel, but be careful about the edition
"Frankenstein" is one of those books one ought to have read, and, as is rarely the case, one that also thoroughly rewards the reading. Read more

Published 7 months ago by William Burn

3.0 out of 5 stars Science and desire
Inevitably dated by style and pace, not to mention a somewhat heavy-handed way with analogy, this remains a touchstone for gothic and speculative fiction. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Pablo K

4.0 out of 5 stars Focus on Emotional Tragedy and The Personal Responsibility of The Scientist
This book is a "must read" for all science fiction / horror lovers, as you will be able to, as previously pointed out by other reviewers, trace the roots and themes of the genre... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Christine Knew

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly, I enjoyed it
I normally steer well away of female novelists finding them too sentimental for my palate. However, Shelley's story, albeit far-fetched, is rich in imagery and the diction used is... Read more

Published on 11 Jan 2007 by Censuwine

5.0 out of 5 stars stunning.
open this book anywhere and point your finger. you will instantly find a beautifull quotable piece.
i was moved to the core. Read more

Published on 15 May 2006 by Mrs. D. L. Cox

5.0 out of 5 stars gothic legend
I have just read Frankenstein, for college course. The book is very slow to start but it picks up around chapter six, the creatures narrative is the best part of the book. Read more

Published on 25 Mar 2006

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Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

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