Frankenstein: Both the 1818 and the 1831 editions side by side

By Mary Shelley

Two Editions in One Volume

The enduring tale of Victor Frankenstein and his ill-fated creation, presented with the complete texts of the 1818 and 1831 editions in parallel.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was authored by Mary Shelley (1797-1851), who began composing the novel at the age of eighteen. First published in 1818, the work was later revised by Shelley and republished in 1831 with numerous significant alterations. The narrative chronicles a gifted young scientist whose ambition compels him to bring a sentient being to life-only to recoil from his creation in horror. Spurned and forsaken, the creature grapples with his existence and, devoid of guidance, descends into vengeance.

This side-by-side edition is designed to illuminate the textual differences between the original and revised versions, offering readers, students, and scholars a valuable resource for comparative study and deeper understanding of this seminal work.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F6VZPJ5D
• ISBN13: 9798349312359
• Release Date: April 2020
• Publisher: Only Classics
• Length: 358 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

"Curssed, curssed, creator." - The monster

Victor grew up reading the works of Paracelsus, Agrippa, and Albertus Magnus, the alchemists of the time. Toss in a little natural philosophy (sciences) and you have the making of a monster. Or at least a being that, after being spurned for looking ugly, becomes ugly. So, for revenge, the creature decides that unless Victor makes another (female this time) creature, Victor will also suffer the loss of friends and relatives. What is Victor to do? Bow to the wishes and needs of his creation? Or challenge it to “the death”? What would you do? Although the concept of the monster is good, and the conflicts of the story are well thought out, Shelly suffers from the writing style of the time. Many people do not finish the book as the language is stilted and verbose, for example, when was the last time you said, "Little did I then expect the calamity that was in a few moments to overwhelm me and extinguish in horror and despair all fear of ignominy of death." Much of the book seems like a travel log filler. More time is spent describing the surroundings of Europe than the reason for traveling or just traveling. Many writers use traveling to reflect time passing or the character growing in stature or knowledge. In this story, they just travel a lot. This book is worth plodding through for moviegoers. The record needs to be set straight. The first shock is that the creator is named Victor Frankenstein; the creature is just a "monster", not Frankenstein. It is Victor who is backward, which adds to his doing the impossible by not knowing any better. The monster is well-read in "Sorrows of a Young Werther," "Paradise Lost," and Plutarch's "Lives." The debate (mixed with a few murders) rages on as to whether the monster was doing evil because of his nature or because he was spurned.