Introduction
Hey there, awesome BookDuck readers! We’ll explore together one more amazing story, Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley, which is considered an early example of science fiction.
Written in 1818, it narrates the story of a young scientist who creates an artificial human (homunculus). You may think it’s quite fun to create an artificial human. However…
Well, we’ll find out very soon.
But first, let’s get familiar with the author of this fantastic story.
Meet the talented Mary Shelley. She was an English novelist.
Actually, she was inspired to write this book when she and her friends, including Lord Byron spent the summer in Geneva in 1816 and her husband Percy Shelley suggested the group hold a storytelling contest.
Mary had a vision before writing the book, which she described in the introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein:
“I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, showed signs of life. … He sleeps, but he is awakened; he opens his eyes; behold, the horrid thing stands at his bedside, opening his curtains, and looking at him with yellow, watery, but speculative eyes.”
Let’s get started with the story!
