“The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine.”

Frankenstein was written by acclaimed gothic horror author Mary Shelley, which she began writing at only eighteen years of age. It is often attributed as the first science fiction novel, and is considered a ground-breaking addition to horror as a genre. It is a story within a story, a sailor’s letter to his sister, enclosed with a mysterious stranger’s shocking account. It is a classic story of illicit science experiments, dismembered corpses, and one man’s quest for progress at all costs. Themes of threatening ambition, revenge, romanticism, and monstrosity reflect back early 1800s society’s fear of technological progress and prejudice against what they perceived as “monstrous,” which continues to be relevant in the modern day. Frankenstein belongs up on a pedestal with other celebrated classic works of horror and societal commentary, such as Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.