Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus

Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus, a novel known worldwide as Frankenstein, is a pioneering work, considered the initiator of science fiction. Published in 1818 and set in the tradition of the Gothic novel, it explores such topical themes as the morality of science, eternal life and man's relationship with God. Frankenstein is written in epistolary form, which achieves great verisimilitude and closeness to the reader. The story is set in 18th century Europe at the height of the scientific effervescence. The captain of a whaling ship writes to his sister Margaret about his vicissitudes and his encounter with the tenebrous scientist Victor Frankenstein, who, in search of the secret of life and without measuring the consequences that this will bring him, creates a new being with parts of other dead human beings.

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, known as Mary Shelley (London, 1797-1851), was a British storyteller, playwright, essayist, philosopher and biographer. Until the 1970s, Mary Shelley was primarily known for her efforts to publish the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley, and for her novel Frankenstein, which is still widely read and has inspired several film and theatre adaptations. Scholars have shown increasing interest in her literary output, particularly her novels, such as the historical novels Valperga (1823) and Perkin Warbeck (1830), the apocalyptic novel The Last Man (1826) and her last two novels, Lodore (1835) and Falkner (1837).