Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

From a budding novelist I would say it would be a dream for a book that I wrote to still being read long after i pass, this is the case for many of the classics and today one of them is having a birthday of sorts, so while your celebrating the new year raise a glass to Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein. The ripping tale of the monster was published 200 years ago today in 1818.

In 1818 the novel was published anonymously and then in 1823 was republished under her own name. The idea for the novel came from Mary and Percy Shelley were in Switzerland visiting Lord Byron and Jane Clairemont, it was a competition to see who could write the best horror story.

The novel takes the name of Victor Frankenstein who created the monster and it is one of the common misconceptions that the monsters name is Frankenstein. In fact in the book the creature is not actually given a name, it is referred to as Creature, Monster, Fiend, Wretch, Demon, Vile Insect or Being.

Mary Shelley was travelling through Europe in 1814 near Frankenstein castle where it was rumoured that experiments had taken place centuries ago by Conrad Dippel in the early 18th century, she had also visited the Geneva region where the story takes place.

Its not surprising at the time of publishing the novel that Mary decided to publish anonymously given her young age, it was only after gaining some notice that she then republished under her own name. It just goes to show when you meet with fellow creatives and set challenges and have some fun something truly amazing can be born from it that will endure for more than two centuries.

I can only hope that someday soon I start working on the novel that will gain me that level of fame, I can dream.

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