Frankenstein and the Birth of Science: The Era of Ingenuity that Electrified Science and Fiction

This book is a study that explores how the real science of Mary Shelley’s time influenced her classic science fiction work, Frankenstein.

Surrounded by prominent scientific thinkers, Shelley conceived Frankenstein during a time of rapid scientific change, including debates on reanimating corpses and the “elixir of life.” The book offers insight into late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century science through Shelley’s novel, revealing how the monster was conceived, the real-life basis for Victor Frankenstein, and the experiments that might have led to the Creature’s birth. It also explores incarnations of the monster since its publication and modern interpretations of the “mad scientist,” while looking ahead to scientific wonders like permanent bionic limbs and implants.