Frankenstein

By Mary Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Book Overview

Reprint of the 1818 Edition in one Volume. This is the Fourth Volume in a new series of student-focused reprints of the world's most iconic books being rolled out by Martino Fine Books in 2026. This series presents classic and foundational texts in a clean, double-column layout designed for maximum readability. Carefully reformatted for today's university students, these editions reduce eye strain, improve navigation, and deliver exceptional value - making essential reading both accessible and affordable.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who becomes obsessed with creating life. Driven by curiosity and ambition, he assembles a being from corpses and brings it to life, setting in motion a chain of events he cannot control.

At first, Victor is horrified by his creation, abandoning the creature to face the world alone. Rejected and isolated, the creature struggles with its own identity, experiencing pain, loneliness, and anger at the way humans respond to it.

The novel explores the consequences of unchecked ambition, the responsibilities of creation, and the moral limits of scientific pursuit. It raises questions about what it means to be human and the impact of isolation on both creator and creation.

As Victor and his creation confront each other, Shelley examines themes of revenge, compassion, and the destructive potential of obsession. Frankenstein remains a powerful and enduring story about human ambition and the ethical limits of knowledge.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GPDXKGKK
• ISBN13: 9798898780395
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Martino Fine Books
• Length: 118 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

“Cursed, cursed creator!” - the creature echoes

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 filler for a travel log. 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 referred to as a "monster", not Frankenstein. It is Victor who is backward, which enables him to do 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.